JERUSALEM, Israel – As Israelis celebrate the 50th anniversary of the reunification of its capital city, there's a new plan afoot for a cable car system that will transport up to 3,000 passengers every hour to the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City.
The project, approved by the government at the beginning of the week, will allow easier access for those wanting to visit or pray at Judaism's holiest site, Israel's YNet News reported.
According to the report, 40 cable cars carrying up to 10 passengers each will traverse the 1,400-hundred meter (yard) route. The cars, traveling at 21 kilometers per hour (about 13.5 mph) will stop at four stations en route to the Western Wall. Passengers will pay approximately the same fare as for a city bus.
Like many new projects, the plan has its detractors, from those who object to the structures that will be needed to support the cable to those who object because it crosses the "green line" (the 1949 armistice lines), to those who think it will detract from the city's skyline.
The four-year project, projected to be operational in 2021, will top out at 200 million shekels, nearly $60 million. It will be underwritten primarily by the Ministry of Tourism. Projects of this magnitude, for example Jerusalem's Light Rail commuter train, often take a lot longer and cost a lot more than original projections.
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin predicted the cable car project "will change the face of Jerusalem."
"There is no better time than the marking of the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem to commence such a revolutionary project," Levin said.
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