THIS MONTH is due to see the formal signing of the 30-year concession to build and operate Line 1 of the planned Jerusalem light rail network. On October 28, the Israeli ministries of Transport and Finance announced that the City Pass consortium had been selected for the project, and that the concession would be finalised by the end of the year.

City Pass groups Alstom Transport and Connex with local companies Ashtrom Engineering and Polar Investments. The losing bidder Jerusalem Pass included Siemens, Hannover light rail operator üstra, Feuchtwanger and Africa-Israel. According to the ministries, the tendering committee found the two bids comparable on technical grounds, but the City Pass bid was around US$126000 cheaper.

Utilities relocation is already underway, and construction is expected to begin during 2003. This should see the 13·4 km line between Pisgat Ze'ev and Mount Herzl open in 2006. Alstom will supply a fleet of 69 Citadis LRVs, which will operate at 5min intervals in peak hours and every 8min at other times.

Meanwhile, the city's light rail design team is working on eight further routes, which would bring the network to 54 km (MR 00 p36).