Israel's National Infrastructures Commission and Planning Administration has unanimously approved the southern section of the M1 Tel Aviv Metropolitan region Metro underground railway. Meanwhile the Knesset is discussing the Metro Law, which is part of this year's Economic Arrangements Law, Trend reports with reference to Globes.
The M1 line is the longest of the three planned lines and extends over 85 kilometers of branch lines from Rehovot and Lod in the south via Tel Aviv to Ra'anana and Kfar Saba in the north. The southern section of 43 kilometers which passes through seven municipalities - Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Ramla, Lod, Beer Yaakov, Rishon Lezion and Holon before reaching Tel Aviv has 31 stations, many of them interfacing with stations of Israel Railways or the Tel Aviv light rail. When completed over one million passenger per day are expected to travel on the M1 line.
Overall the three lines, which are being planned by the Ministry of Transport and government company NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd., will extend over 150 kilometers.