Jerusalem Light Rail to start operating on 19 August 2011

The Jerusalem Light Rail will start taking passengers on 19 August 2011.  The tram line which has taken many years to complete and suffered many delays will run through central Jerusalem, including past the Old City of Jerusalem, from Pisgat Zev in northern Jerusalem to Mount Herzl in southern Jerusalem.

While, operations will begin on 19 August, the trains will not be at full speed, as due to delays in reprogramming traffic lights along the route, the light rail will still not have right of way at junctions but will have to wait for the traffic lights to change.  The operator CityPass had hoped to delay the start of operations until the reprogramming of traffic lights were complete, but the Jerusalem Municipality has one out and required passenger operations to begin.

 This could see the travel time along the route increased from the expected 40 minutes to 80 minutes.
It is not known how long the reprogramming will now take and when the trains will be able to go at full speed and have right of way at traffic lights.