Israel to connect Western Wall with Jerusalem-Tel Aviv railway

Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz has announced that the planned high-speed Jerusalem-Tel Aviv railway will have a stop for commuters at the Western Wall, Moheet.com reported on Tuesday.

The project, which has been in the planning stage since 2001, is intended to connect West Jerusalem with Tel Aviv. However, Katz has ordered that the line should be extended to the Western Wall via a tunnel. The extension of the line is predicted to relieve pressure on the main Jerusalem railway station and make it easier for tourists, students and others to reach the Western Wall.

According to Yedioth Ahranoth, the project will cost $1.8 billion and is expected to be completed by 2017. It will cut the travel time between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to about 28 minutes, which is down from 78 minutes via the old line built by the Ottoman Empire.

There is already a light railway connecting the Mount of Olives, overlooking Al-Aqsa Mosque, to the Western Wall.

Last Wednesday, UNESCO decided that Jews have no link to Jerusalem’s Old City, including Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall, which have been occupied by Israel since 1967.