Israel’s long-planned Tel Aviv Metro, a $40–$50 billion, 150-kilometer underground rail system spanning 24 municipalities, is transitioning from planning to staged civil execution. It is one of the largest soft-ground urban tunneling programs now advancing globally.
The Metro Network Programme comprises three heavy-rail lines—M1, M2 and M3—totaling roughly 150 km of largely underground alignment and 109 stations across the Gush Dan metropolitan region, Israel’s economic core. Stage 1 is expected to deliver 78 km and 59 stations; Stage 2 adds 74 km and 50 stations. Initial operations are targeted for 2037.
State-owned NTA—Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd. has opened pre-qualification for “Infra #1” works, covering major tunnel and underground structural components within Stage 1. The documents did not reveal a fixed amount for Infra #1 and a request for clarification to NTA was not responded to before press time. Qualification submissions are due April 29, according to the NTA’s announcement.
Engineering Beneath Israel’s Densest Urban Corridor]]>
A map of Tel Aviv and surrounding municipalities in the Gush Dan region illustrates the dense urban grid beneath which Israel’s planned 150-km metro network will be constructed.
Image: Adobe Stock
Gush Dan encompasses Tel Aviv and neighboring municipalities, including Ramat Gan, Petah Tikva, Holon, Bat Yam, Herzliya and Rishon LeZion—Israel’s most concentrated employment and commercial corridor.
According to project documents, the metro will mostly run below grade in twin bored tunnels. Underground stations are designed to be approximately 190 to 226 meters long and up to approximately 40 m in depth. Major segments will require sustained deep excavation beneath dense surface development.
While the underground alignment limits permanent residential displacement compared with elevated alternatives, it intensifies subsurface complexity. Deep station boxes, ventilation shafts and crossover caverns will require staged excavation in constrained rights-of-way, often adjacent to active commercial properties and transportation corridors.
Integration further compounds sequencing risk. The heavy metro is planned to connect with the Red, Green and Purple light-rail lines and Israel Railways commuter services through seven major hubs. Several alignments pass beneath or adjacent to operating transit assets, increasing instrumentation, settlement tolerance and interface coordination requirements.
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Coastal Plain Geotechnical Exposure
According to soil and alignment data, the metro traverses Israel’s coastal plain stratigraphy, characterized by predominantly loose to medium-dense sands interbedded with clay lenses and kurkar, a type of cemented calcareous sandstone formation.
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A geological cross-section of the M1 corridor illustrates predominantly loose sand and kurkar formations with localized clay layers near the Ayalon and Yarkon river basins—conditions that will shape TBM selection and settlement control strategies.
Graphic courtesy of the NTA – Metropolitan Mass Transit System
Groundwater levels are relatively shallower in western segments closer to the Mediterranean basin.
Loose granular soils elevate face instability risk and require tight earth-pressure balance during tunnel boring machine advancement. Variability between sand and clay interbeds causes differential settlement behavior, complicating predictive modeling and requiring continuous ground response calibration.
Kurkar variabilities present localized zones of higher-strength material that can accelerate cutterhead wear and introduce abrupt shifts in torque demand, requiring adaptable tooling strategies.
The twin-bore geometry sized for heavy metro operations strongly suggests that earth-pressure-balance TBMs may be used across much of the alignment, with slurry shields likely required where groundwater pressures and permeability increase. Israeli news outlet Ynet reported that the Stage 1 tunneling program would use around 20 TBMs, underscoring the scale of concurrent excavation activity. Machine selection will hinge on balancing face stability with groundwater control while minimizing surface settlement.
Settlement sensitivity is amplified by dense urban overburden. Alignments pass beneath pile-supported commercial towers, shallow utilities corridors and, in certain sections, active light-rail infrastructure. According to the reviewed performance specifications, contractors will likely be required to incorporate continuous real-time monitoring arrays, strict movement thresholds and compensation grouting provisions to mitigate differential settlement.
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Deep station excavations in saturated sands will likely require diaphragm walls or comparable slurry-supported retaining systems extending below excavation base levels to control inflow and limit ground loss. Comprehensive waterproofing assemblies and carefully staged dewatering strategies will be necessary to prevent aquifer drawdown and adjacent structural impact.
In contrast to hard-rock metro builds, the engineering challenge in Tel Aviv is sustained, precision-controlled soft-ground tunneling beneath high-value urban overbuild, according to project documents.
At roughly 150 km and approaching $49 billion in projected cost, the Tel Aviv Metro enters the same scale category as France’s Grand Paris Express, which ENR has previously reported on for deploying more than 20 TBMs across nearly 200 km of underground alignments.
While Grand Paris traverses mixed geology, including chalk and limestone, Tel Aviv’s coastal sands and variable groundwater conditions place greater emphasis on continuous face-pressure management and settlement control over long distances.
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Fiscal Commitment and Statutory Authority
The project’s viability rests on both executive and legislative actions.
Government Decision 200, adopted in 2021, designated the metro a national infrastructure priority and outlined a multi-year implementation framework with an estimated budget envelope of approximately $42 billion at the time. Subsequent state oversight reviews place the projected total cost closer to about $49 billion.
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Separately, the Israeli Knesset, enacted the Underground Railway (Metro) Law, centralizing permitting, licensing and land acquisition under national authority and embedding value-capture mechanisms, including a betterment levy on property uplift around stations, according to a Ministry of Finance press release on approved regulations.
The Metro Law also establishes the structure for collecting a dedicated “metro tax” on land value increases to help finance construction.
The metro is structured as a publicly funded national program rather than a concession. The state retains financing responsibility, reducing exposure to fare box volatility and private capital risk. With entitlement authority consolidated and fiscal backing set, the primary contractor exposure shifts to engineering execution and schedule discipline.
The Procurement Pivot]]>
A staging diagram outlines the two-phase delivery of the Tel Aviv Metro, showing Stage 1’s 78 km and 59 stations across the M1, M2 and M3 lines, followed by a 74-km Stage 2 expansion.
Graphic courtesy of the NTA – Metropolitan Mass Transit System
In media coverage of the launch, Transportation Minister Miri Regev called the start of pre-qualification a “historic moment for the State of Israel” and described the metro as “an enormous challenge and a tremendous opportunity for renewal and investment.” Similarly, NTA Chair Yodfat Afek Arazi said the metro “will transform Israel’s future” and requires “full cooperation between ministries, local authorities, and the public,” according to media reports.
Delivery is divided into Advanced Works, Infra #1 and Infra #2 packages. Advanced Works encompass enabling and utility relocation activities, while Infra packages cover primary tunnel excavation and underground civil structures. Infra #1 tenders are scheduled for publication sometime later in 2026, with Infra #2 to follow in 2027, according to NTA materials.
Stage 1’s 78-km footprint implies multiple concurrent tunnel drives and station excavations advancing across separate corridors, including the north–south M1 spine toward Herzliya and Rishon LeZion, the east–west M2 trunk through central Tel Aviv and the semicircular M3 alignment linking eastern and southern municipalities.
For global tunnelers and heavy civil contractors, Infra #1 represents a long-horizon opportunity in which entitlement risk is comparatively contained while geotechnical precision, groundwater management and interface coordination will determine performance.