Beersheba Light Rail

The Beersheba Light Rail is a planned light rail system for the city of Beersheba, Israel.

Plans for a light rail system in Beersheba, including in the master plan for the city, go back decades.[1] In 1998, an agreement for the planning of a light rail system was signed and mayor Yaakov Turner announced the following year that it would begin to run in 2003, but this did not happen.[2] In 2008, the Israeli Finance Ministry contemplated freezing the Tel Aviv Light Rail project and building a light rail system in Beersheba instead but did not follow through. In 2014, mayor Ruvik Danilovich announced that a light rail system would be built in the city.[3][4][5] In 2017, the Ministry of Transport gave the Beersheba municipality approval to proceed with preliminary planning on a light rail system.[6] On 14 August 2023, the light rail system was approved.

Under the current plans, the light rail will consist of a single 25 kilometer long line. It will serve railway stations and the city's central bus station, the city center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and Soroka Medical Center, and extend to neighboring communities, with the line's route parallel to Highway 60, serving the military intelligence base complex being constructed at Likit which is expected to open in 2028, the towns of Omer, Lakiya, and Meitar, and terminating at the Meitar Crossing near the Green Line. The location of the light rail's depot will be selected after an environmental impact assessment. The project is expected to be completed in 2033 and cost an estimated 8 billion NIS ($2.11 billion).[7][8][9][10][11]

## References

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1. ^ "mynet באר שבע – רכבת קלה? הצחקתם את הבאר שבעיים". Mynet.co.il. June 20, 1995. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
2. ^ Beersheba to get its own light rail after 30 years of attempts
3. ^ "נחתם ההסכם הסופי לתכנון רכבת קלה בבאר שבע - גלובס". Globes. January 13, 1998. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
4. ^ ""מספיק להגר למרכז - יש כאן דירות בחצי מיליון שקל, והרבה מהן" - Bizportal". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
5. ^ "Tel Aviv light rail project may be stopped in its tracks". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
6. ^ "Beer-Sheva develops light rail plans". July 11, 2017. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
7. ^ הרכבת הקלה בבאר שבע יוצאת לדרך: מה יהיה המסלול שלה?
8. ^ Be’er Sheva light rail plans to be further developed
9. ^ רכבת קלה בבאר שבע או לדרום הר חברון? הקו המוזר שמקדם משרד התחבורה
10. ^ התכנית להקמת הרכבת הקלה בבאר שבע יוצאת לדרך
11. ^ Be’er Sheva light rail project to proceed