A publicly-traded Spanish company specializing in designing and implementing transit systems, and manufacturing railway vehicles, equipment, and buses. CAF provides project and engineering management that include system design, civil work, signalling, electrification and other electromechanical systems, rolling stock supply and system operation and maintenance.

In 2019, CAF and its Israeli partner Shapir Engineering & Industry Ltd., established the TransJerusalem J-Net consortium which was awarded the Jerusalem Light Rail project contract to expand the Jerusalem light rail network, which connects Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem to the western part of the city.

The tender, estimated at NIS 11 billion (more than USD 3 billion), includes the construction, operation and maintenance of the Green Line, and the extension, operation and maintenance of the existing Red Line, formerly operated by the CityPass consortium since 2011.

The project entails the extension of the Red Line from the settlement neighborhood of Pisgat Ze`ev to the settlement neighborhood of Neve Yaakov, including the construction of 27 kilometers of new track, 53 new stations and various depots covering the entire stretch of the current Red Line (6.8 kilometers), and the construction of the new 20.6 km long Green Line, which will run from Gilo settlement through the city center to Mt. Scopus.

The contract also includes the design and supply of 114 new Urbos trams for the new Green Line, and the refurbishment of the 46 vehicles which are currently in service on the existing Red Line. The project will also include the supply of the signalling, energy and communication systems, as well as the operation and maintenance of the Red Line and the Green Line for periods of 15 and 25 years respectively, with the possibility of extending the term of operation. In April 2021, J-Net commenced a 15-year concession to operate the two lines.

In January 2022, the company began the track laying and construction work in Pisgat Ze`ev and in Neve Yaakov settlement neighborhoods, including the establishment of a new 150,000 square meters sized depot in Neve Yaakov. An already existing company depot located near the French Hill settlement neighborhood is planned for expansion by the company, and an additional depot is planned in Gilo settlement.

In August 2021, the company began the track laying on two extensions of the Red Line. Construction is due to be completed by the end of 2022 with both extensions due to open in the middle of 2023.

According to the company’s website, residents of the settlement neighborhoods Neve Yaakov and Pisgat Ze`ev “will be able to enjoy full accessibility to all parts of the city”.

In 2020, a consortium led by Hapoalim Bank with the First International Bank of Israel and Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd., awarded CAF and Shapir NIS 3.5 billion for the expansion of the Red Line and the establishment of the Green Line projects.

For more on the Jerusalem Light Rail see Infrastructures of Dispossession and Control: Transport Development in East Jerusalem.