PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Today, a special "first ride" of the Jerusalem light rail was made available to people working on the light rail project and their families in advance of the public opening this Friday, August 19.  Originally, this had been scheduled for late June, but was canceled and rescheduled to today about a week ago.  As one of many contractors working on the project, I was invited to attend.  The festivities started off with food, followed by two brief speeches in the Ammunition Hill amphitheater.  We then walked over to the nearby Ammunition Hill station to set off on our journey.  I had been on a stationary train in the French Hill depot back in September 2009, but this was my first time on a moving train on the main line.  Additionally, hardly anyone outside the train along the route had ever seen a train with passengers on it, so the expressions on their faces as we went by were priceless.

A train passes through Ammunition Hill without picking us up:


They have 3 days to get this fixed, Hebrew and Arabic are read from right to left (backwards to an English speaker) but not upside down:


Ticket machine on the platform at Ammunition Hill, these had been boarded up until just a few days ago (though some remain this way still):


Next train display (rotates between information in Hebrew, English, and Arabic), the station signs have been installed above the vending machines at a few stations but not at most:


A train comes by in the other direction while we wait for ours:


And heads off towards Pisgat Ze'ev:


Our train arrives and picks us up:


As I said, the expressions on people's faces as we passed by were priceless.  We had to stop at red lights and simulated station stops.  The doors didn't open, but that didn't mean people didn't try to press the buttons in vain attempts to get them to do so.


Inside of the train:




Here are two interior shots from September 2009 with no people on board:




Passing the New Gate:


On Derech Yafo, the main street in Jerusalem that was converted into a pedestrian mall to accommodate the light rail right of way:






Here is the view from inside of the train as we go down Yafo and through Kikar Tzion at the end of Ben Yehuda Street:
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Looking up King George Street from the inside of the train:


More passersby:


One of the kids of a coworker of mine enjoying the ride:


Passing over the Strings Bridge at the city entrance:




At the Kiryat Moshe Station at the end of the bridge, we got off and headed over to the opposite track to wait for a train to take us back to Ammunition Hill.  I'll post photos from that part of the trip in part two. 

Here I am posing for a photo while walking from one track to the other:

[WMATAGMOAGH]

While waiting for the train to take us back to Ammunition Hill, I got these photos of trains heading up the incline to the bridge:





They had clowns on the train to entertain the kids.  They were making balloons, doing a rap about the train (which I unfortunately did not take video of), and taught the kids about safety around the tracks and how to ride the train properly:





Running to catch the train:


And then realizing there is no point in trying to get on:


Passing the Mahane Yehuda Market:


Photographing the photographer as we go by:


Interior LED showing the destination in Hebrew:


The interior LEDs also show the destination in English and Arabic, and the next stop in all three languages as well.  The train supposedly has automated announcements, but they didn't seem to be working.  Interestingly, the station names on the interior LEDs were the names given to each station during construction, but some of them have been changed.  Here is the link to the video: http://youtu.be/0i-l1Uocka0

View of the Old City from the train:


Passing the New Gate again:


On board machine for validating paper tickets and the new Rav-Kav smartcard (rides will be free however when the train opens on Friday until further notice):


We've made it back to Ammunition Hill:


And our train heads off to continue its test run towards Pisgat Ze'ev:


View of the entire Ammunition Hill station platform:


Here is a closeup of the strip map on the pylon in the photo above, am I right in thinking the strip map would have been better designed if it were meant to be read down, not up?


For the purpose of comparison, here is a photo of Ammunition Hill Station from nearly the same point taken on June 3, 2010:


Some parting shots:






As for the ride itself, the train is very quiet, many seats are of the fold down variety so when they are not in use, there is lots of standee room, there is a huge railfan window behind the operator, and the ride is smooth, though some operators could be a bit easier on the brakes when they come to a stop.  The red lights are a bit long for the train, the signal priority system has not been installed on all the lights along the route yet, but it should be completed in the next few months, at which time an end to end trip on the line should take about 45 minutes. 

As I said before, the light rail opens Friday, and I intend to ride it that day.  However, I highly doubt I'll get photos from Friday posted before mid to late next week.

Thanks for taking a look at all this, more to come...

[WMAveteran]

Very cool, thanks.  It's always nice to be there at the beginning. 

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Or before it, as the case may be.  ;-)  Thanks!

There won't be a grand opening ceremony or speeches or anything like that on Friday, so the event yesterday was the closest thing to it.  The only shots I didn't get yesterday that I wish I had gotten in hindsight were out of the front window of the train through the cab, I don't know how agreeable drivers will be to the idea of people taking photos literally over their shoulder as they drive in revenue service, whereas anything within reason was OK yesterday.  The official photographer took such photos (as well as kids looking through the RFW excitedly) and they were sent out over email to the entire JTMT staff, which is when I realized the missed opportunity.

[Sand Box John]

Thanks Oren.

That kid I met at the Suitland station in January of 2001 has grown up. Has it been that long ! !

[WayneNYC]

Thanks a bunch Oren.

The expressions are priceless.  Great photos.