First Purple Line light rail cars arrive in Haifa in major logistics operation

Four of the first cars for Tel Aviv’s Purple Line light rail arrived in Israel overnight through Haifa Port, marking another milestone toward the line’s expected opening in 2028. The cars were manufactured by CAF plants in Spain and Britain, and their unloading from the Neptune vessel, represented by Mano, required a special logistics operation with close coordination among port bodies and advanced handling to move the cargo to its destination.

Haifa Port said it prepared in advance with planning, coordination, and tailored operational solutions to ensure the cars were received safely and efficiently. In the coming days, the cars will be transferred to the Dipo HaTayasim facility, the Purple Line’s operations and maintenance center, where they will undergo intake, testing, and trial runs ahead of test service and eventual operation. Over the next few months, the remaining 94 cars are expected to arrive, bringing the total to 98 cars produced for NTA in CAF’s factories around the world.

The arrival moves the project from infrastructure and systems work into the operational preparation and commissioning stage. The Purple Line will run for about 29 kilometers, include 46 stations, and serve 10 local authorities, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Givatayim, Ramat Gan, Givat Shmuel, Kiryat Ono, Savyon, Or Yehuda, Yehud-Monosson, Petah Tikva, and the Mateh Binyamin area, according to the article. It is expected to carry about 260,000 passengers a day and 77 million a year, connecting residential, employment, commercial, education, health, and leisure centers across the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

Officials from the Transportation Ministry, NTA, Haifa Port, CAF Israel, and Mano all described the arrival as an important milestone. Transportation Ministry Director-General Moshe Ben Zaken said the Purple Line is moving closer to launch and that soon people will see the cars running from Yehud, Or Yehuda, Ramat Gan, and Tel Aviv, calling it part of an “historic” light rail network in Gush Dan. NTA chairwoman Yodfat Afek Arzi said more work remains, while NTA CEO Itamar Ben Meir said the project is progressing step by step toward opening to the public in 2028. Haifa Port acting CEO David Cohen said the port is proud to assist a national project, and Mano owner Moshe Mano said the shipment was a successful and complex logistical milestone.