French rail manufacturer Alstom and its partners Electra and Dan Public Transportation have reached financial closure on the contract for the design, construction and maintenance of the €2.6bn ($2.8bn) Tel Aviv Metropolitan LRT Green Line. 

First awarded in May 2022, the contract was signed by Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd with the three companies acting as the TMT Consortium with Alstom working on the design, engineering, and testing of the railway system. 

Eran Cohen, managing director of Alstom Israel, said: “We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to support NTA in the development of the city’s urban network and serve hundreds of thousands of residents every day. We believe access to transport is an essential factor to promote and enhance social and economic progress.” 

The new Green Line, expected to open in 2028, will add 39km of light rail to Tel Aviv and the surrounding area along with 62 stations set to serve 275,000 passengers a day. 

The project is part of wider ambitions in the country to develop transport links in one of its biggest cities, following the construction of the 24km Red Line which opened in August after years of delays, and being built alongside the 27km Purple Line. 

Alstom’s work on the Green Line, worth €858m, will include the supply of a version of its Citadis X05 trams specially designed for the network which is set to connect Herzliya in the north of the region to Holon and Rishon LeZion in the south, linking the areas to the centre of Tel Aviv-Yafo and Tel Aviv University. 

Alongside Alstom’s work, Electra will manage the design and construction of the civil works for the project while Dan Public Transportation will work on maintenance for the system via a joint venture with Alstom and Electra.