- Fare and where to buy tickets
- Metro lines
- Working hours
- History
- Peculiarities
One of the shortest metros in the world is the Haifa metro. Some even consider it to be the shortest, but those who argue that … in Haifa, in fact, there is no metro. The fact is that this transport system is not at all what most people understand by the word “metro”. The only feature due to which this system can be classified as a metro is its location underground. In all other respects, it is a funicular.
Agree, a funicular moving underground is a rather unusual mode of transport. Therefore, it can be argued that it is one of the local attractions. Many tourists use its services only to get a closer look at this unusual transport, to make a trip in its trains moving inside the legendary Mount Carmel (by the way, for this reason, the transport system is called "Carmelite"). However, this transport is readily used not only by guests of the Israeli city, but also by local residents: the subway (we will call it that) is very convenient and is in high demand.
Fare and where to buy tickets
At the entrance to each station, there are two or three vending machines where you can buy passes. There are no ticket offices, but if you have any difficulties with buying tickets, the person on duty at the station will come to the rescue. Information is displayed on the screens of the machines in two languages - English and Hebrew.
The vending machines sell the following types of tickets:
- for one trip;
- for two trips;
- for ten trips;
- for a day;
- for a month.
The cost of the ticket depends on what age group the passenger belongs to: in addition to regular tickets, there are passes for teenagers and the elderly. At the entrance, it is necessary to present to the controllers the documents confirming the age of the passenger for whom the discount ticket was purchased. If an adult decides to purchase a teenage ticket from the machine for himself, he will have serious problems with the controllers.
If you are afraid to get confused in the vending machine menu, you can immediately proceed to the last step of buying a ticket - payment. Then the machine will sell you one adult single ticket.
A travel document looks like this: a rectangle made of light-colored cardboard. It contains the following information: its cost, the date of its purchase, the station at which it was purchased, and the age category of the passenger. You will also see an arrow on the ticket - it indicates the direction in which this travel document is inserted into the slot of the turnstile.
The cost of one trip is about six and a half shekels.
If you plan to use several types of public transport, you can purchase a special ticket that gives you the right to travel both in the subway and on the bus.
Metro lines
The Haifa metro consists of only one line with a length of two kilometers. The entire line from start to finish can be traveled in eight minutes. There are six stations on it. The track gauge complies with European standards (that is, it is one thousand four hundred and thirty-five millimeters).
The transport system carries about two and a half thousand passengers every day. Approximately seven hundred and thirty thousand people use the metro services a year.
As noted above, in fact, the word "metro" this transport system can only be called with a very big stretch, since it is a funicular that works underground. Passengers are served by wagons that do not have motors: they are driven by steel traction cables. The electric motor and drive shaft are installed at one of the end stations (upper). At the same time, in each train there is a driver, who, however, does not drive the train, but only controls its movement. The trains are controlled by automation. It even regulates the time interval that separates one train from another.
Working hours
From Sunday to Thursday, the metro works according to the following schedule: it opens at six in the morning and closes at midnight. It closes at three o'clock on Friday. The same shortened working day at the subway and on the eve of the holidays. On Saturdays and holidays, the metro opens at seven in the evening (in summer) or even at eight (in winter). On such days it works until midnight.
The time interval separating the trains is ten minutes.
History
For the first time, the idea of a vehicle that would connect the coastal areas of the city with the quarters built on the mountainside appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. In particular, the project of a twelve-kilometer funicular was considered.
Years passed, decades passed, but the project remained a project. Its implementation began only in the 50s of the XX century, when the transport situation in the growing city deteriorated significantly. In order not to create inconvenience to the urban population, it was decided to lay the paths for the funicular underground. This made it possible to avoid the destruction of urban buildings.
At the end of the 50s of the XX century, the transport system received the first passengers. It was opened without any celebrations, early in the morning on a weekday. The reason for the lack of celebrations was that they could prevent citizens from arriving at work on time.
Half a month after the opening of the metro, a celebration dedicated to this event took place. It was attended by the country's political leaders.
The project cost the country almost $ 6 million. This amount was higher than planned, as unforeseen difficulties arose during mining operations.
A few months after the opening of the metro, an accident occurred: the trains at the terminal stations could not stop, they crashed into the walls. After that, the metro was closed for three weeks. It was decided to continue to reduce the speed of trains on certain sections of the track.
A year and a half later, another accident happened: two cars rolled down and overturned. This happened in the course of work on the replacement of the cable. There were no casualties, but the metro was closed for several months, as the train cars and the station platform, where they overturned, needed repairs.
A separate page in the history of the metro is the fight against underground waters. In the late 60s, they put the underground out of action for almost a week.
In the 90s, a large-scale reconstruction of the transport system was carried out.
There was a fire in the subway recently; Fortunately, it was a Saturday afternoon and the metro did not work, so no one was hurt. After that, the metro was closed for a year and eight months. Currently, all damage has been repaired and the transport system is operating as before.
Peculiarities
If the train has stopped and its doors will not open, do not rush to panic: just press the button located in the central part of the doors. The fact is that the doors in Haifa metro cars do not open automatically - this saves energy.
The Haifa Metro is a very quiet vehicle. The reason is the special soft suspension. However, the movement of trains is still not silent: the cable moving in the rollers creates a certain level of noise.
Official website: www.carmelithaifa.com
Haifa metro
