{"id":83858,"date":"2025-06-30T08:17:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T05:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerusalem-online.co.il\/?p=83858"},"modified":"2025-06-29T23:21:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T20:21:35","slug":"even-jerusalems-elite-gives-way-to-the-light-rail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerusalem-online.co.il\/en\/even-jerusalems-elite-gives-way-to-the-light-rail\/","title":{"rendered":"Even Jerusalem\u2019s elite gives way to the light rail"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s more than just a street
Emek Refaim has never been merely a route \u2014 it\u2019s been a statement: of status, of lifestyle, and of a local ideology that refused to yield. But now, even the German Colony in Jerusalem is beginning to make room for the Blue Line. And in many ways, it feels like the symbolic end of an era<\/p>\n

The Blue Line works: from fallback plan to fait accompli<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This week, infrastructure work begins on Emek Refaim \u2014 a stretch once considered a red line for those opposing the light rail. The Moriah company will start underground drilling, aiming to minimize damage to the street\u2019s historic trees. In the second phase, track laying will begin under the direction of the Blue Line operator, JTRAIN, with promises to minimize disruption to businesses and pedestrians<\/p>\n

(Jerusalem\u2019s Lion Fountain Sinks in Trash and Silence<\/a>)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

During construction, the road will be converted to one-way traffic, and vehicles will be redirected through side routes such as Kovshei Katamon, 29th of November, Sheskin, and Elazar HaModa\u2019i. A temporary parking lot will also be opened on Azariah Street<\/p>\n

Between past and future: a global transformation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jerusalem is not alone. Over the past decade, dozens of historic cities worldwide have undergone urban transport revolutions that cut through the heart of their traditional character
In Lisbon, trams rattle through 18th-century alleys; in Prague, light rail curves between imperial palaces; and in Budapest, sleek new stations now stand across from caf\u00e9s once frequented by Europe\u2019s political elite<\/p>\n

In each of these cities \u2014 as in Jerusalem \u2014 the story repeats itself: fierce resistance, public outcry, painful disruption. But once the rails are laid and the station is built, it often turns out that history is not erased \u2014 but amplified<\/p>\n

When did it really happen? When the elite lost<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The question isn\u2019t when construction began \u2014 but when the opposition lost its power. Over the past decade, Emek Refaim has gradually shifted from a symbolic bourgeois boulevard into a transit corridor connecting Gilo to Mount Scopus. It wasn\u2019t a political revolution or an ideological defeat \u2014 it was simply the critical mass of a city moving forward<\/p>\n

(Jerusalem\u2019s Concrete Revolution and Its Silent Price<\/a>)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s no coincidence.
This stretch is set to become a central station in the 31-kilometer Blue Line, expected to carry 250,000 passengers daily across three routes: Gilo\u2013Ramot, Malha\u2013Mount Scopus, and Givat Hamatos\u2013Hadassah Ein Kerem. And right in the heart of the German Colony \u2014 they all converge<\/p>\n

Rail, heritage \u2013 and a quiet surrender<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The project will do more than lay tracks: it will redesign the entire streetscape, with new sidewalks, benches, greenery, and lighting
And in the place that once resisted every change \u2014 Jerusalem will soon open one of its most modern stations<\/p>\n

Maybe this is what the end of an era really looks like
No protests, no court appeals, no slogans \u2014 just a station quietly rising where legacy once stood alone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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