Inaugurated in August 2011, the first light rail line in Israel has been a source of contention right from the start — financial, physical, and political. The budget for the project climbed dramatically from an initial estimate of €120 million to a final cost of around €925 million. The construction caused major disruptions in the city’s traffic flow and generated elevated levels of air and sound pollution that were vocally criticized by residents. And a 2009 report by the United Nations Human Rights Council described the new infrastructure as serving disputed settlements.

Fast forward to 2015 and the light rail moves around 140,000 passengers a day and has since become the heart of Jerusalem’s transportation network, connecting Muslim, Ultra-Orthodox and Israeli communities. ... In a city with a population of around 810,000, moving more than 17% of the population each day on a single line is a significant achievement. As the light rail trains run through the neighborhoods where these smaller communities live, they have been helping those residents become more involved in the day-to-day life of the city.