The Carmelit ( Arabic: كرمليت) is an underground funicular railway in Haifa, Israel. Construction started in 1956 and ended in 1959. It is the oldest funicular railway and underground transit system in the Middle East and was the only underground transit system in Israel until the 2023 opening of Tel Aviv Light Rail.[3] The Carmelit has closed down for repair on three occasions.
System
The Carmelit, named after Mount Carmel through which it runs, is an underground funicular railway in Haifa. The difference in elevation between the first and last stations is 274 m. Carmelit cars have a slanted design, with steps within each car and on the station platform. Since the grade varies along the route, the floor of each car is never quite level, and slopes slightly "uphill" or "downhill" depending on the location, the only exception being Masada station.
The Carmelit is the smallest subway system in the world, having only four cars, six stations and a single tunnel 1.8 km long. The four cars operate as two two-car trains, which run on single-track with a short passing loop to allow the trains to pass each other.
The technology used in the system forces it to have an even number of stations at approximately equal distances. This means that some stations are not close to major centers, but were situated for technical reasons.[4]