Carmelit
| Carmelit כרמלית |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
The Carmelit at Kikar Pariz Station
|
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Funicular Subway |
| Status | Temporarily closed |
| Locale | Haifa |
| Termini |
Gan HaEm Paris Square |
| Stations | 6 |
| Services | 1 |
| Ridership | 732,664 (2012) |
| Website | www.carmelithaifa.co.il |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1959 |
| Owner | Haifa Municipality |
| Operator(s) | Ha Carmelit Haifa ltd. |
| Character | 1 |
| Rolling stock | 4 Von Roll funicular cars 2 per train |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 1.8 km (1.1 mi) |
| Number of tracks | 1 |
| Track gauge | 1,980 mm (6 ft 6 in) |
| Operating speed | 28 km/h (17 mph) |
| Highest elevation | 268 m (879 ft) above sea level |
| Entrances to all stations on Google Street View, top-down | |
 Gan HaEm
|
|
|
Bnei Zion
|
|
|
Massada
|
|
|
HaNevi'im
|
|
|
Solel Boneh
|
|
|
Paris Square
|
The Carmelit (Hebrew: כַּרְמְלִית, Arabic: كرمليت) is an underground funicular railway and Subway unit in Haifa, Israel. Construction started in 1956 and ended in 1959. The Carmelit was closed in 1986 after showing signs of aging and reopened in September 1992 after extensive renovations. It was closed in March 2015 due to a fault in the cable and later reopened in July 2015. Since February 2017 it has been closed again for renovations after a fire. The Carmelit is currently the only underground rapid transit system in Israel, until the expected completion of the Tel Aviv Light Rail, planned for 2021.
The Carmelit, named after the mountain through which it runs, Mount Carmel, is an underground funicular railway that runs up and down parts of Mount Carmel within Haifa. The altitude difference between the first and last stations is 274 meters (899 feet). 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 subway systems in the world, having only four cars, six stations and a single tunnel 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long. The four cars operate as two two-car trains, which run on single-track with a short double-track section to allow the trains to cross.
The technology used in the system forces it to have an even number of stations at about equal distances. This means that some stations are not located close to major centers, but were placed there for technical reasons.
A rail-based solution to connect Mount Carmel with downtown Haifa was envisioned by the British mandatory authorities. However, only in 1955, under the auspices of then-mayor Abba Hushi, did practical talks begin. The French company Compagnie Dunkerquoise d'Entreprises created a detailed plan and proposed to a generous loan for a large part of the project, and a deal was signed in 1956. The plan was for a funicular system, and the inauguration took place in 1959, attended among others by the French transport minister Robert Buron and Israeli prime minister David Ben Gurion.
...
Wikipedia