Operation
The French-based company Veolia Transport, which held 5% of CityPass's shares, was originally meant to operate the light rail. However, due to pressure from groups united in the Derail Veolia campaign, operating within the context of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, in September 2009 Veolia agreed to sell part of its share in the project to the Dan Bus Company for $15–20 million. The sale was however unsuccessful, and Veolia agreed in October 2010 to sell its stake to Egged instead. As of December 2011, the sale to Egged was reported to have been held up by the Israeli state.
Travel over the full line is due to take 42 minutes from Pisgat Ze'ev at one end to Mount Herzl at the other (as of August 2012, the travel time is 46 minutes). The line operates Sunday through Thursday, from 5:30 am to 11:30 pm, on Friday up to an hour before sundown and not during the Shabbat or Jewish holidays, resuming half an hour after Shabbat or the Holiday ends. Frequency will be every 4.5 minutes during rush hours, every 8 minutes in the daytime and every 12 minutes at night. It is expected to carry up to 23,000 passengers an hour during peak morning rush hours. The light rail operates at a maximum speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). New regulations were passed by the government in regard to vehicle behavior vis-a-vis the light rail.
Operations were affected by a labor dispute in 2011. In May 2012, security personnel complained of poor working condition and lack of transparency from their employers—allegations which were denied by the security company.
Read more about this topic: Jerusalem Light Rail
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