Tel Aviv's 1st light rail system celebrated

JERUSALEM — About 100,000 people from across Israel enjoyed a free light rail ride along Tel Aviv's Red Line on Friday, to mark the first day of operations of the line jointly built and operated by Chinese and Israeli companies.

The line's opening came a day after an official inauguration ceremony attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ministers.

"I got up at a quarter to five in the morning to be the first. The train ride was a very pleasant, precise, and a different experience for someone who is used to traveling in a private car," the first passenger to board the train, 70-year-old Tel Aviv resident Kuti Elazar, told state-owned Kan TV news.

"This is a day of celebration, we are all excited," Tel Aviv-Yafo Mayor Ron Huldai told Israel's Channel 12 TV news. "100,000 people from all over the country enjoyed a new transportation system and sensed the feeling of being abroad."

"In the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, there are now two periods, before the light rail and after, as from today everything will look different," Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev said in a statement.

More convenient

Leon, a hi-tech worker from Tel Aviv, told Xinhua that the event was long awaited for Israelis, and was glad to see that with the Chinese side sharing much expertise, "our lives have become more convenient."

The Red Line runs 24 kilometers between the cities of Petah Tikva, northeast of Tel Aviv, and Bat Yam to the south, passing through the cities of Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv-Yafo, and Ramat Gan.

Among the companies involved in building the project are two subsidiaries of China Railway Group, or CREC, which are China Railway Tunnel Group, or CRTG, and China Railway Electrification Engineering Bureau (Group), or EEB.

Liu Yuanlue, the project leader of CRTG-EEB, said this is the first time that CREC has undertaken an overseas project with both design and construction in accordance with European standards.

CRTG undertook the construction of the line's 12-km tunnel in the west segment, while CRTG-EEB was responsible for the design, procurement, installation, and commissioning of 39 electrical systems.

China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, or CCECC, another Chinese construction company, built the line's east segment and several underground stations. It will also take charge of the 14-year operation and maintenance together with China's Shenzhen Metro and the Israeli partner Tevel Metro.

"It is the first time that a Chinese company has won an urban rail transit operation and maintenance project in a developed country," said Kang Wei, general manager of CCECC Israel.

Xinhua