Tel Aviv Driverless Metro Project Advances with $8B Tender

Israel's National Transport Infrastructure Company announced Monday that it's opening bidding for the next phase of the Tel Aviv metro project. During this phase, worth about 30 billion shekels ($8 billion), companies will now compete to supply the trains, signaling systems, power infrastructure, and everything needed to actually run the metro.

The metro itself is already under construction. Phase one, the tunnels and stations, attracted massive international interest, with 20 different consortia bidding to build it. Now comes phase two: making it functional.

Savidor Station (National Transport Infrastructure Company)

Weitzman Institute Station - M1 (National Transport Infrastructure Company)

Companies will bid to supply autonomous trains (fully driverless), signaling systems, electrical infrastructure, and station systems. The goal is to bring world-class technology to Israel's public transport network. The trains will use GOA4 technology, which is basically the highest level of automation available in rail systems worldwide. In simpler terms: no drivers, real-time monitoring, and advanced safety built in.

All the systems, trains, signals, power, communications, will integrate into one unified platform to keep the network running smoothly and securely. Israel's cybersecurity firms will work with winning bidders to ensure safety standards.

Yudit Afek Arazi, head of NTA's board, emphasized the significance of this moment: "The metro is now transitioning from tunnels and stations to the trains and systems that will transform it from a mega-engineering project into a living, functioning transportation system."

The Big Picture

When it's finished, the Tel Aviv metro will have three lines spanning 150 kilometers with 109 underground stations. It will connect 24 municipalities in the greater Tel Aviv area and handle over 600 million trips a year. Combined with the existing light rail network, the entire system will move more than 800 million people annually.

Tel Aviv University Station (National Transport Infrastructure Company)

Segulah Station - M2 (National Transport Infrastructure Company)

Transportation Minister Miri Regev called it a milestone: "After the tremendous success of Infrastructure Phase 1 and the tremendous international interest in the Israeli project, we have proven that the Israeli economy and its standing are strong in the world."

She added that the metro represents more than just transportation infrastructure. Officials say it will reshape the region's economy, link housing to jobs, and enable major urban development across the metropolitan area. "The metro is growth infrastructure for the State of Israel," Afek Arazi said. "It will connect housing to employment, expand the labor market, enable urban development on enormous scales, and strengthen Israeli productivity and the economy."

The Metro in numbers (National Transport Infrastructure Company)

Itamar Ben Meir, CEO of NTA, commented: "The metro is one of the most significant and complex infrastructure projects in the world today, and therefore we are seeking the best partners to take part in it. Over the past year we met with leading companies from around the world that expressed interest in the project, and we expect to see the best and most experienced among them join us. Our goal is clear: to bring to Israel an advanced, reliable, and safe metro system at the highest standards in the world, and to create a real transportation breakthrough for generations to come."