Israeli Minister Plans to Name Western Wall Train Station after Trump
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
BY: PETER BEAUMONT
Israel’s transport minister is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to extend Jerusalem’s soon-to-open high-speed rail line to the Western Wall, where he wants to name a station after the US president, Donald Trump.
Yisrael Katz’s proposal for the “Donald John Trump” station, which is in the initial planning stage, involves constructing two underground stations and excavating more than two miles (3km) of tunnel 50 metres beneath central Jerusalem and under the politically and historically sensitive Old City.
The Western Wall is the holiest site where Jews can pray, and the new station would be located near the Jewish Quarter’s “Cardo”, an ancient thoroughfare a few dozen metres from the wall.
The Cardo – meaning “heart” – was Jerusalem’s main street 1,500 years ago, paved in the 2nd century by Hadrian and later extended south to the area of today’s Jewish Quarter in the 6th century by Justinian.
A spokesman for the transport ministry, Avner Ovadia, said the project was estimated to cost more than $700m (£522m) and, if approved, would take four years to complete.
The Tel Aviv-Jerusalem rail project is expected to cost about $1.8bn and is estimated to cut travel time to 28 minutes, down from 78 minutes on the old line built during the days of the Ottoman empire.
Jerusalem’s main station is currently located on the southern outskirts of the city, while the old main train station near the city centre – long out of use – has been converted into an area of bars and restaurants.
Katz’s office said the minister advanced the plan in a recent meeting with IsraelRailways executives and fast-tracked it in the planning committees.
“The Kotel [Western Wall] is the holiest place to the Jewish people, and I have decided to name the train station leading to it after US President Donald Trump, in recognition of his brave and historic decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” Katz said on Tuesday.
Extending the high-speed rail to the Western Wall was the “most important national project in the transportation ministry”, he said.
The plan also envisages a VIP rail car to shuttle visiting heads of state and ministers directly from Ben Gurion airport to the “Trump” station near the Western Wall.
Digging railway tunnels to the Western Wall would also entail excavating in Jerusalem’s Old City, where religious and political sensitivities – as well as layers of archaeological remains from its 3,000-year history – could prove a logistical and legal quagmire.
Despite likely opposition to the project, Ovadia said he expected the plans to be approved next year, barring major complications. The Tel Aviv-Jerusalem high-speed line is expected to open in the spring.
“There’s no reason why this train won’t be built,” he said. “We already know how to deal with no less difficult opposition.”
Katz has previously proposed other ambitious infrastructure projects, including an artificial island off the coast of the Gaza Strip that would serve as an air and seaport for the Palestinian territory, and a railway connecting Israel and Saudi Arabia.
