The Dankal Red Light, affectionately known as the Tel Aviv light rail, stands as a pivotal component of the city's public transportation infrastructure. Its purpose is to serve as the primary mode of transportation within Tel Aviv-Yafo while fostering improved connectivity between the city and its suburban areas throughout the Gush Dan area.
The Red Line acts as the backbone of the network, traversing some of the most densely populated regions in the vicinity and accommodating a substantial volume of passengers. Notably, the Red Line is designed to seamlessly integrate with forthcoming lines such as the Green and Purple lines. This Red Line extends over 24 kilometers, featuring a 12-kilometer underground tunnel, from Aluf Sadek Street in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv, to a junction in Petah Tikva. It boasts 34 stations, with 12 stations within Tel Aviv-Jaffa city limits.
Validation Machine Validation machines are installed at all street-level stations and allow you to:
- Validate and select your destination
- Validate multiple passengers
- These machines work with Rav-Kav cards only; fare payment apps don't require validation at the card validator.
Tiketing Machine
Ticketing machines are located in all underground stations and some street-level stations. They are accessible for sight- and hearing-impaired individuals and offer various services:
- Validate and select your destination
- Validate multiple passengers
- Check your card balance and recent transactions
Some machines accept cash, while others only allow card payments. Dankal has an integrated payment system used for public transportation in Tel Aviv. Here's how you can use it:
Payment by App
Download one of the public transport payment apps, such as Moovit, HopOn, Rav-Pass, PANGO, Cello.
Select your DANKAL journey and destination station.
At underground stations, flash the QR code received from the app at the gate reader when entering and exiting.
Note: No need to flash the QR code at street-level station card validators.
Payment using a Rav-Kav Card
If you have a Rav-Kav card, make sure to load a suitable contract and validate it before boarding DANKAL. You can validate the fare at underground stations' gates or street-level station card validators.
If you don't have a Rav-Kav card, you can obtain one through various means, including online, customer service centers, ticketing machines, or DANKAL service centers.
The Green Line will pass between the northern end of Har Zion Street (Levinsky Garden) and the north of Ibn Gvirol Street at the junction with Nordau Boulevard.
The line connects the southern parts of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area (Holon and Rishon Lezion) with the northern parts (Herzliya) through Tel Aviv, and allows access to employment centers in Ramat Hachayal, Tel Aviv University, Holon, Rishon Lezion and Herzliya Pituach.
The length of the line is about 39 km, and there will be 62 stations along it, including 4 underground stations in the city center: Karlebach, Dizengoff, Rabin Square and Arlozorov.
The Green Line has several encounters with the other lines of the light rail: with the Purple Line at the Levinsky station and at the Arlozorov station (in Tel Aviv); the Red Line at the Karlebach station (in Tel Aviv); and Israel Railways at Moshe Dayan Station in Rishon LeZion, Holon Junction and Tel Aviv University Station.
The Purple Line is planned to connect the eastern areas of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area to the city center and will pass entirely at ground level. The total length of the line is expected to be about 27 km, it intersects with the green and red lines and is connected to two stations of the Israel Railways.
The line consists of a central route that begins at the Savidor train station and continues through the streets: Arlozorov, Ben-Yehuda, Allenby, Aliya, Lewinsky, Haganah, Derech Hashalom (Tel Aviv), Derech Aluf Sadeh (Givatayim-Ramat Gan), Aluf Sadeh and Sheba Interchange.
From the Sheba Medical Center area, the line splits into two arms:
The northern one - you will pass through Rafael Eitan (Ramat Gan), Katzir (Kiryat Ono) streets, crossing Road 471, Anna and Max Webb (Ramat Gan) along Bar Ilan University and Jabotinsky St. (Givat Shmuel).
The southern one - beginning in the area of the center of Sheba Hospital, continuing on Road 4612 planned to Road 461 (Lod Road), heading east along Road 461 in the area of Or Yehuda and Yehud-Monosson to the end of the road on Road 40, Bnei Atarot Junction (planned HaTayasim Interchange)
Photo Credits: Kfir Sivan, NTA