The smallest metro in the world Bashny.Net

Have you ever thought to where and how the metro is the smallest ??
I'm here until today and did not know that there is a miniature subway in Haifa, Israel.
Someone macos visited him and wanted to tell us all about this amazing form of transportation.

From the author: "With this began the journey to Israel, but I publish a report towards the end. Haifa - the third largest city in the country, I was not interested because of their Baha'i gardens, remember each of them, and not even the monastery on Mount Carmel, hence the famous "Carmelites".

It is located in Haifa, Israel, the only subway that, moreover, the smallest metrosistema on the planet - a Carmelite. »

22 photos + a bit of text.





Carmelite not even seriously consider public transport, and especially the metro: in fact, this is a funicular that goes underground and transports people from the lower to the upper part of the city: Haifa settlement is very hilly. But still, I will treat it as a Carmelite subway, especially since he is officially named, and is, being independent system off-street underground transport.



Column in front of the station shows where is the train. All them in a small two meters. One goes up, the other - down. The main difference from the usual cable car - a full six stations here! Looking at the board, you can decide whether to wait for a train or go by bus. Suddenly you nuzhy part just went down? Then the waiting time may take up to 20 minutes.



And for this very reason a hell of a Carmelite is not popular among the locals. It was built 55 years ago, and then reconstructed, but the metro proved unprofitable, its even think shut down or dismantled.



In the fifties as everything seemed different. Life in the hilly city took on three different levels, and a shuttle service, by virtue of the natural terrain, could not be the best way to transport people between regions. Then it was decided to build a transport, which went straight to the slope. Foreign experts have been involved, as if to speak simply, almost all vehicles, ranging from design to implementation, was built by the French metrostroevtsy.

Sixth October 1959 at 5:30 am started the movement of trains: without any opening ceremony to the first passengers had time to work. Celebrations, however, held two weeks later, the red ribbon was cut by the famous Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

New Transport desperately nevezlo with him at all times befall any misfortune. And due to the fact that only two trains, and part of the plot, only one path, any breaking INSTANT paralyze the entire system.



Carmelite transport seems archaic, if not because of our age. The way it is. Today it is not even necessary. Modern Haifa does not like sixty years ago. When the "Harmel & quot; only built, he combined the three most important urban area: the sleeping Carmel center of education and culture and business Adar Lower Town, going straight to the bus station in the Paris area. Now the geography of Haifa has changed dramatically: trait settlement has moved far to the southeast. Neighborhood "Carmel & quot; It became the geographical center of the city and cultural center of the city life, and Hadar became cheaper area in which Arabs and migrants settle.

In the sixties Carmelite transporting 15 thousand people a day, and today - about one and a half thousand, a drop in passenger traffic tenfold. This is due more to the fact tickets to "Metro" does not apply to buses and vice versa.



Even the machines turned out to be very uncomfortable, you can only pay with coins: the machine does not accept the bill in principle, and the card reader was not working.



I told a brief history of fading subway, and now let's ride on the train and take a look around. Here are the top station, the train does not go further. The platform on both sides of the ladder. The system of the train exactly the same as in the classic funicular rails and Ropes, cables.



From the good old days there were turnstiles.



Kompostiruesh ticket and tested. In the current passenger flow is completely unnecessary: ​​even just the proceeds of ticket sales are incompatible with the maintenance costs, Carmelo unprofitable. So, if the government has made transport and free at all - they would have lost nothing.



Here's the train. This allowed cyclists. But for people with disabilities Carmelite not fit all, alas. The composition is beautiful.



Inside the car. You see, it is empty? Though, remember your trip to Haifa subway, I made almost rush hour on a weekday. Somewhere we calculated that on average, each train rides while Carmelita 10 people. With capacity for 400 people on the train.



The feeling from the trip fun, all at an angle. Therefore, here and lead the tourists: it's almost obligatory point of interest. Let not as known as the same Baha'i Gardens



The stations are decorated with colorful tiles. Bright, nice, but nothing special. Transitions are very similar to the distant cousins ​​of the Paris metro. But you of CD who built this metrosistemu?



The station can be found along the walls plasstikovye seats, only for some reason very few



To rare passengers did not die of boredom, the station was decorated with weird labels. That smiling turd.



But the strange monsters.



More monsters.



Driving a single line and subway Haifa unusual sign: Do not put your feet on a nearby chair. Apparently put. At lower station all exactly the same, only the inclination in the opposite direction. And yes, I wanted to go in the cockpit, but the engineer turned a deaf ear to the pleas.



When back on the subway up to the area of ​​Carmel, the train had as many as five passengers.



The bottom station, "Pariser Platz". There, behind the gate with toothed horned monster - a small depot.



The spectacle certainly unusual ...



And in the conclusion of the story, I wanted to say that, in general, I expected more, but you need to understand that the history of Carmelite more tragic than fascinating. It may happen that in a few years it is actually closed, and then these photos will be much more valuable. ©

On this I have everything, thank you for your attention !!!



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