Carmelit

The Carmelit is an underground funicular railway in Haifa, Israel. It opened in 1956, and closed in 1986 after showing signs of aging. It reopened in September 1992 after extensive renovations.

Possible origin

The idea for a public transport system in the city of Haifa was first mentioned in Theodor Herzl's visionary book Altneuland. When Herzl visited Haifa in the 1890's, it was still in its infancy, having started out as a fishermen's village on the beach. Yet, in his novel, Herzl described Haifa as a vibrant port city complete with a train-system whose wagons - moving among the tree tops high above the ground - were pulled by a cable.

ystem

Because much of Haifa is built on top of the Mt Carmel, the Carmelit (named after this mountain) is an underground funicular that goes up and down the mountain. The altitude difference between the first and last stations is 274 meters. Carmelit cars have a slanted design, with steps within each car and on the station platform. Since the gradient varies along the route, the floor of each car is never quite level, and slopes slightly "uphill" or "downhill" depending on the location.

The Carmelit is one of the smallest subways in the world, having only four cars, six stations and a single tunnel 1800 meters long. The four cars operate as two two-car trains, which run on single track with a short double-track section to allow trains to cross.

It is not the smallest subway in the world - the Istanbul Tünel, with two stations and 573 meters long, is smaller. However, since Istanbul also has a newer and bigger (though separate) subway system, the Carmelit is the smallest subway system in the world.

The Carmelit today

The small number of stations means that the Carmelit serves only a small part of Haifa - what were the important population and business centers at the time it was designed. Nowadays, the vast majority of Haifa's population does not live close to any of the stations, making it very lightly used. There have been talks of extending its tunnels to reach more population centers, but such an extension has not been done, primarily for fiscal reasons. The most widely used public transportation system in Haifa is Egged buses, which cover most of the city.

Haifa's comptroller wrote in his 2004 report (published in 2005) about the declining use of the Carmelit. According to the report, the Carmelit is used by only 2,000 passengers each day, and has been losing money ever since being reopened in 1992. The accrued losses between 1992 and 2003 are over 191 million New Israeli Shekels.

The Carmelit is the only subway in Israel. There are plans for a subway or light rail systems in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, but those plans are still in the construction stage (see Tel Aviv Light Rail and Jerusalem Light Rail).

tations

The Carmelit has six stations, going downhill:
* "Gan Ha'em" ("the mother's garden"): in the Carmel Center neighborhood, adjacent to the Haifa zoo, a panoramic promenade, the Haifa Auditorium, and many shops and hotels.
* "Bnei Zion" ("the sons of Zion" - named after the nearby Bnei Zion Hospital. The station was previously called "Golomb" - after the street it is in. The name was changed in 1992): in Golomb street, near the Bnei Zion (Rothschild) hospital and the Bahá'í World Centre.
* "Massada", upper Hadar Hacarmel: near Massada and Nordau streets, with their galleries, antique shops, cafes and restaurants. Close to the Israeli National Air, Space and Technology Museum.
* "Hanevi'im" ("the prophets"), Hadar Hacarmel: Near Hanevi'im, Herzl and Hachalutz streets, and their shops and offices. Close to the Haifa museum.
* "Solel Boneh": near Hanevi'im tower, Ha'atzmaut park, and Haifa city hall.
* "Kikar Pariz" (Paris Square), Downtown: near government building and courthouse, Ha'atzmaut Street, walking distance to train station.

Operating hours

*Sunday - Thursday: 06:00 - 22:00
*Friday and holiday eves: 06:00 - 15:00
*Saturday: Closed (for Shabbat)

Gallery

ee also

* Israel Railways
* List of rapid transit systems

External links

* [http://www.carmelit.com/ Official Carmelit information] (in Hebrew). Also available [http://www.haifa.muni.il/Cultures/he-IL/Municipality/CityCouncil/CityCorp/CarmelitHaifa.htm on the municipality's site] .
* [http://www.urbanrail.net/as/hai/haifa-citymap.jpgMap of Carmelit route and area around it] (in English)
* [http://www.urbanrail.net/as/hai/haifa-pix.htm Pictures of Carmelit stations and cars]