Jerusalem Light Rail

The Jerusalem Light Rail (Hebrew: הרכבת הקלה בירושלים, HaRakevet HaKala Birushalayim, Arabic: قطار القدس الخفيف, Qiṭār Al-Quds Al-Khafīf) is a light rail system in Jerusalem. Currently, the Red Line is the only one in operation, the first of several light rail lines planned in Jerusalem.

Construction on the Red line began in 2002 and ended in 2010, when the testing phase began. It was built by the CityPass consortium, which operated it until 2019. The project required construction of the Jerusalem Chords Bridge as well as other renovation projects around Jerusalem.

After repeated delays due to archaeological discoveries and technical issues, service began, initially free of charge, on August 19, 2011. It became fully operational on December 1, 2011. The line is 22.5 kilometers (14.0 mi) long with 35 stops. The last extensions to the red line were opened in February 2025 to the Israeli settlement of Neve Yaakov and to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital to the southwest.

With a total estimated cost for the Red Line's initial section of ₪3.8 billion (approx. US $1.1 billion), the project was criticized for budget overruns, for its route serving Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and for contributing to air and noise pollution during construction.

The Green line's plans have been approved by the city of Jerusalem, with right-of-way clearing works underway. Construction tenders, including those for the red line extension, were awarded in August 2019 to TransJerusalem J-Net Ltd., owned by CAF and Shapir Engineering, and the first phase is expected to begin operations in 2026.

The Blue line has been approved and works on it have started in several locations.

In ancient times, Jerusalem was a point on the Ridge Route, also known as the Way of the Patriarchs, centrally located between the Via Maris (along the coast to the west) and the King's Highway (east of the River Jordan). The primary roads led to the gates of the Old City, such as the Jaffa Gate and the Damascus Gate. It was along these roads that the city grew when it expanded beyond the walls of the Old City in the 19th century, the major thoroughfares of the city thus becoming the Jaffa Road, leading to the west in the direction of the coastal plain, the watershed routes (Ridge Route) leading north to Ramallah, Nablus, and Damascus, and south to Bethlehem and Hebron, and one to the east to Jericho.

Early plans for an electric tramway were drawn up by a Greek Lebanese engineer, George Franjieh, in 1892, who had been involved in planning the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. The tram would connect the city with Ein Karem and Bethlehem. In 1910, a tender for a tramway was published by the Ottoman authorities.