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The train station in Netanya
(Photo: Ido Erez)
According to an announcement from the Ministry of Transportation published this afternoon (Tuesday), the service will be renewed on only four train lines: the Beer Sheva Center-Herzliya line and the lines between Nahariya, Beit She’an and Carmiel to the Haifa Hof Hacarmel station.
Following infrastructure works on the railway: Southern residents cut off | Interview with the director of the stations department at Israel Railways
(Photo: Amit Hoover, Shmulik Dudpur)
The requested railway line between Haifa and Tel Aviv will remain closed on weekends until 2023. The plan to close the line was approved as early as 2015, but no one in the Ministry of Transportation and Railways found it appropriate to update the public on this. The railway line between Jerusalem and Herzliya will remain closed without the Ministry of Transportation and the railway being willing to publish an estimated date for its operation. The western Negev line will remain closed until September – then it will start operating as an electric line.
The Ministry of Transportation’s announcement was published against the background of a series of articles on Ynet, which each week brings the stories of the people who were hurt by the decision to leave the train closed on the weekends. The partial opening, which was decided by Minister Miri Regev, will begin a few days before the Knesset elections.
The Ministry of Transportation’s announcement also does not mention the operation of the train in the evenings. Following the works to convert the train to run on electricity, trains stop at stations starting at 20:00, significantly harming the traveling public.
Our correspondent Assaf Zagrizak talks about the failures and faults on the train, in the “Headline” podcast:
This is how the train will operate on the weekends, from Friday 19 March:
Trains will operate on Fridays from 06:00 to 14:00, and on Saturday evenings from 21:00 to midnight. The frequency of travel will be once an hour, in each direction.
On the Be’er Sheva Center-Herzliya line: Trains will stop at the Be’er Sheva North University intermediate stations, Lehavim-Rahat, Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malachi-Yoav, Mazkeret Batya, Ramla, Lod and all Tel Aviv stations.
Nahariya-Haifa Hof Hacarmel line: Trains will stop at Acre, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Haim, Hutsot Hamifratz, Central Bay, Haifa Merkaz Hashmona and Haifa Bat Galim.
Beit She’an-Haifa Hof Hacarmel line: Trains will stop at Afula Rafael Eitan intermediate stations, Migdal Haemek Kfar Baruch, Yokneam Kfar Yehoshua, Central Bay, Haifa Central Hashmona and Haifa Bat Galim.
Carmiel-Haifa Hof Hacarmel line: Trains will stop at Ahihud, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Haim, Hutsot Hamifratz, Central Bay, Haifa Merkaz Hashmona and Haifa Bat Galim.
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The train will be renewed on weekends, days before the election. Transport Minister Regev
(Photo: Hadar Yoavian)
Upon completion of the electrical work on the section of railway between Lod and Ganot, the service will be expanded in the evening from Sunday to Thursday at Beit Shemesh, Lod and Rehovot stations, and direct trains will be added on the Beer Sheva – Tel Aviv, Rehovot – Binyamina, and Beit Shemesh – Tel Aviv lines.
The Ministry of Transportation claims that the intensive work of the Israel Railways is carried out in extensive parts of the rail network, while shortening the schedules of the projects per year to 5 years. These include, among other things, electrifying the train lines from Ashkelon to Netanya, installing a new signaling system and running new mobile equipment, on a large scale that is expected to enter train activity in the coming year.
However, the information provided is inaccurate: the electrification project is supposed to upgrade the service for passengers, but it was done significantly late. According to the State Comptroller’s report published last October, Israel Railways has been working to replace the polluting diesel train system with electric trains since 2000. The move is expected to shorten travel times, increase the number of trains on the network, improve schedules and reduce malfunctions. NIS 12.1 billion has been allocated to the project, but as of the end of 2019, only 31 percent of the budget had been used.
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The test of the train: to provide adequate service in parallel with the works
(Photo: AFP)
In 2013, it was determined that the project would be completed by 2019, but it was postponed and now the estimated completion date is 2025 – six years late. In the previous report, prepared by the State Comptroller on the subject in 2017, the Israel Railways estimated that the project would be completed in 2021. After that, they mentioned at a much later date – 2030.
Some of the delays in recent years are due to a legal dispute that has arisen with the company that performs the electrification and the railway offer to include additional contractors. Following the inauguration of the new CEO of the railway, Micha Meiksner, a compromise was reached with the operating company and the target date was set for 2025.
The cost estimate for the electricity project also swelled from NIS 11.9 billion in 2014 to NIS 12.4 billion in 2019. According to the State Comptroller, postponing the project also has other costs of hundreds of millions of shekels every year. “Delays in projects may cause the project to lose its viability and lead to changes in the prioritization of its components,” the auditor wrote.
By the end of the project, many sections are expected to close, but the test of the train will not only meet the schedules – but also its ability to simultaneously provide adequate service to the traveling public many of whom rely on it.