NTA – Metropolitan Mass Transit Systems Ltd is a government company tasked with the development of the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Mass Transit System, which includes a metro network, comprising three mostly underground metro lines of approximately 149 km in length, 108 Stations and more than 760 vehicles and 7 Transportation Hubs.  

The Metro Network Programme is comprised of 3 metro lines: 

•  M1, a 85 km radial line with 62 stations connecting the Northern and Southern municipalities to the center of Tel Aviv, running north to south, from Kfar Saba and Ra'anana, through Tel Aviv, to Rishon LeZion, Lod, Ramla and Rehovot; 
• M2, a 25 km radial line with 22 stations connecting the East cities of the Metropolitan to the center of Tel-Aviv,  running east to west, from the southern part of Petach Tikva, via Ramat Gan, Bnei Brak and Givataim, to the eastern side of Tel Aviv;  
• M3, 39 km half-ring line with 25 stations, connecting all lines and creating an integrative network, running from Bat-Yam, Holon, Azor, Ben Gurion Airport, Or-Yehuda, Kiryat-Ono, Petach-Tikva, north of Tel-Aviv and Herzliya.  

The Metro Network Programme will be the largest infrastructure project undertaken in Israel, involving several ministries and multiple municipalities. The Network will provide modern, state of the art, reliable public transportation to hundreds of thousands of passengers per day across the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area.  

The Programme objectives include: 

• the reduction of significant journey time and significant relief to the passengers allowing the transfer to and from the metropolitan cities to the largest employment centres in the country; 
• creating significant additional social, environmental and economic benefits to the economy of the State of Israel in general and to Israel's largest metropolitan in particular; 
• creating a connection between various mass-transportation means through 7 Transportation Hubs located in the centre of the metropolitan, allowing efficient connectivity for hundreds of thousands of passengers each day; and (vi) creating an opportunity and an economic growth engine for urban development and land value capture.  

As a first step in the development of the Metro Network Programme, NTA, with the assistance of Systra, conducted a feasibility study, in which it examined alternatives for  routes, locations of Stations, Depots, park-and-ride facilities, integration with the existing and planned heavy and light rail network, etc.  Following the completion of the feasibility study, NTA has engaged several local (Israeli) design firms to undertake and complete the preliminary and statutory design process with respect of the Programme. This process is still undergoing, and the Programme is expected to receive statutory approval by the end of the year 2021. For further information please click il/13 for the tunnelbuilder archive and also visit https://www.nta.co.il/. 18/21.