From Sunday, February 9, to Thursday, February 13, Jerusalem's light rail service will be suspended.
The suspension is intended to allow test runs of the existing "red" line of the light rail along its full length, from Neve Yaakov to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, to ensure the line meets safety standards.
On Friday, the regular line will reopen from Pisgat Ze'ev to Mount Herzl. The extensions, between Pisgat Ze'ev and Neve Yaakov and from Har Herzl to Hadassah Ein Kerem, will see test runs for an additional few days. At the end of this period, the full line will be opened to passengers.
To provide alternatives to the light rail, bus lines will change and be reinforced to meet the passengers' needs. In northern Jerusalem, existing lines will increase in frequency: 22, 25, 49, 65, 66, 540, 541. Near Beit Hanina, the 274 will run at increased frequency.
In central Jerusalem, the following lines will provide alternative transportation: 500 and 501, with identical routes, will run from Givat Hamivtar through the city center to the Central Bus Station, and line 502 will run from the Central Bus Station to the city hall and back again. Line 503 will run from Givat Hamivtar to the city hall and back to Givat Hamivtar.
In southwestern Jerusalem, lines 20, 21, 23, 24, 27, and 29 will run from their usual areas to the Central Bus Station and the Haturim stop.
When the full line becomes operational, 12 new stops will be opened, four in Neve Yaakov, and eight in the area of Kiryat Yovel, Kiryat Menachem, the Ora Junction, and on the way to Hadassah Ein Kerem.