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| PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 1) (1094264) | |
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PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 1) |
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Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:29:30 2011 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: 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: 
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:53:09 2011, in response to PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 1), posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:29:30 2011. Go back to part 1 for the explanation on today's outing and how I was a part of it.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. 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... |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by arnine on Tue Aug 16 17:04:10 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:53:09 2011. Nice write up and work :) Thanks for taking us along for the ride :) |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by WillD on Tue Aug 16 18:11:45 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:53:09 2011. Very nice photos, all of them, over the whole series of threads. There is something oddly enjoyable about watching the messages scroll left to right, right to left, and back again.What is the contractual relationship between Alstom and the Israeli operator of the light rail (Egged? Some other group)? Is it a DBOM, a more turnkey design-build approach, or something else entirely? Is Alstom solely a rolling stock supplier, or did they have a role in the engineering of the ROW and trackside equipment? I ask because the light rail cars bear a striking resemblance to a less streamlined AGV, and was wondering if Alstom may have played a role in determining the scheme the cars would wear. |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by Fred G on Tue Aug 16 18:47:36 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:53:09 2011. Excellent photos and report; I hope the first day of service is kickass.The strip map reading upward kind of makes sense if the map is oriented in the direction we're going. Hehe, to me anyway. your pal, Fred |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 1) |
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Posted by AEM-7AC #901 on Tue Aug 16 19:01:50 2011, in response to PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 1), posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:29:30 2011. Brilliant photos, and thanks for giving us an inside view of the project. :-)As one of many contractors working on the project, I was invited to attend Out of curiosity, once the line is up and running, will your position be terminated or is there more work to be done? |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by CentrolinerDD on Tue Aug 16 19:09:55 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:53:09 2011. Wonderful photos. Also, thank you for photographing people. Too many times we see the technology and infrastructure, but not who it was all built for. Thanks.I do not know if you will know this, but I will try. What steps has the City of Jerusalem taken to ensure the future long-term success of the train. Have they modified zoning laws in the areas surrounding stations to encourage dense and transit-supportive development? What changes (if any) have been made to parking regulations near these stations? And somewhat related, what impacts/changes have you seen as a result of the changes on Derech Yafo? More people and better business? Or the opposite? |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Wed Aug 17 01:57:45 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by Fred G on Tue Aug 16 18:47:36 2011. Thanks Fred, but the other side is also read up. It also doesn't matter which end of the platform you are at, the signs are always read up. |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Wed Aug 17 04:16:04 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by WillD on Tue Aug 16 18:11:45 2011. Thank you.There is a consortium of companies, collectively called CityPass, that has the BOM rights until 2036. I'm not sure of the exact nature of how the consortium set up, but as I understand it, Alstom is one of the companies in the consortium. You can find out more about Citypass here. The light rail cars are Alstom Citadis 302s, the same type of model that operates in Rotterdam, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona, among other places. However, it has been modified for Israel's security needs, which is why it is not nearly as sleek as its European cousins. |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Wed Aug 17 04:33:48 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by CentrolinerDD on Tue Aug 16 19:09:55 2011. What do you mean by ensure the future long term success of the train? They are redoing all the buses and many of them will feed into the light rail line and will not continue to the center of town, essentially forcing people to take the train. I don't know of any changes to the zoning laws to encourage TOD, that wasn't the purpose of the project. Remember, outside North America, TOD isn't considered to be some sort of progressive planning policy, it is often the norm. Israel has one of the lowest rates of car ownership for a developed country in the world. The only changes to the parking near the stations is that three stations have large park and ride lots so people can drive to the stations and park there if they want.The construction on Yafo was painful for the businesses there, quite a few went out of business. Some suspect the city wanted to gentrify the area and the light rail was a means to reach that end. However, the pedestrian mall is quite nice, it is far more pleasant to sit outdoors at a streetside cafe now than when the construction was going on and buses were still running up and down the street (I don't really have memories of what the street was like when it was open to all traffic before the construction started). October 2009:   April 2010:  August 2009:   June 2009:   Good luck operating a successful business amid all that... |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 1) |
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Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Wed Aug 17 04:40:29 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 1), posted by AEM-7AC #901 on Tue Aug 16 19:01:50 2011. Thanks.My position isn't being terminated immediately, most of my work has to do with the buses that have yet to change and there are things we can't really do until the new network is fully up and running. As for what happens after that remains to be seen. |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by Fred G on Wed Aug 17 05:05:57 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Wed Aug 17 01:57:45 2011. Oh well that's different and not a good idea.your pal, Fred |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Wed Aug 17 05:34:04 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by Fred G on Wed Aug 17 05:05:57 2011. I actually hadn't thought of your suggestion of if the train was going that way, to leave the strip map going up. It would work if they had made it down on the other side, though I still prefer all pointing down. |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 1) |
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Posted by Terrapin Station on Wed Aug 17 13:54:37 2011, in response to PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 1), posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:29:30 2011. Super, fantastic photos! Excellent coverage!Note that you got a true "EXCLUSIVE", not like the kind of "exclusive" that some people here try to throw around. |
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Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2) |
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Posted by Terrapin Station on Wed Aug 17 13:55:09 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS & VIDEO: Jerusalem Light Rail Preview Ride (Part 2), posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Tue Aug 16 16:53:09 2011. More super, fantastic photos! Excellent coverage!Again, note that you got a true "EXCLUSIVE", not like the kind of "exclusive" that some people here try to throw around. |
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