Five-section Urbos 100 trams began carrying passengers on 21 August on the first stretch of the Green Line, which is 7 km long with 13 stops. They run exclusively coupled in pairs, and for now operate at 12–15-minute intervals, due to shorten to 8–10 minutes at peak times once the service beds in.
Each Urbos 100 tram is 33.1 m long, carries up to 220 passengers, and has a top speed of 70 km/h. The trams use traction motors from Austria’s TSA and a braking system from Hanning & Kahl, with boarding and alighting through six double-leaf doors on each side. CAF’s trams first entered service on the Red Line last year.
Two five-section Urbos 100 trams running in multiple in East Jerusalem. Source: חדשות 13
The rolling stock is being delivered under a 2019 concession contract run by the TransJerusalem J-Net consortium, jointly and equally owned by CAF and Israeli firm Shapir. The contract covers construction of the Green Line and the extension of the existing Red Line, plus 15 and 25 years of operation and maintenance respectively. CAF’s share of the deal is worth €500 mln and includes 114 Urbos 100 trams, the modernisation of 46 Alstom Citadis trams that have run in the city since 2011, and the supply of signalling, communications and power-supply systems. The project is financed under a PPP scheme.
These deliveries have put CAF’s reputation under scrutiny: East Jerusalem is disputed territory between Israel and Palestine, and both tram lines running through it are Israeli-led projects. Last September, this led the UN to add the Spanish manufacturer to its blacklist. CAF was accused of exploiting natural resources for commercial gain, supplying equipment and materials that help build and expand Israeli settlements and the wall separating Jerusalem from Arab neighbourhoods, and providing services — including transport — that sustain the settlements.
In April, Spain’s Public Prosecutor’s Office also opened an investigation into CAF over its involvement in the project. The complaint, filed by six pro-Palestinian civil society organisations, accuses CAF’s board of directors and the heads of its six Israeli subsidiaries of conduct that could amount to war crimes and human rights violations.
