"The electrified train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will begin working during Sukkot, but until electrification of the Ayalon Highway track is completed, there will be an exchange of trains on the way at Ben Gurion Airport from an electrified train to a regular train," Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) today. Katz confirmed the report in "Globes" yesterday that the high-speed train would only be opened partially before the Sukkot holiday due to failure to finish infrastructure work on the part of the high-speed railway route to Jerusalem.
"I ordered no other work to be done on the Ayalon Highway route other than work on the high-speed line," Katz added, and mentioned the Yehudit pedestrian bridge, which yesterday aroused a public and political storm.
The bridge controversy began two days ago with the announcement by the Ayalon Highways company and the Tel Aviv municipality of a plan to build and a pedestrian bridge, construction of which would take place on weekends with workers being employed on Saturdays in order to reduce damage to traffic on the Ayalon Highway. Although the haredi (Jewish ultra-Orthodox) parties exerted no pressure, Katz yesterday ordered work on the bridge postponed for six months and justified his decision by the need to complete electrification work on the Ayalon Highway railway route for purposes of operating the high-speed route to Jerusalem. Katz believes that closing the Ayalon Highway in order to build a pedestrian bridge is unnecessary.
Katz denied that he had caved in to pressure from the haredi parties, saying, "I didn't capitulate. There was no pressure at all from the haredim here and no threats were made. Two years ago, I stood like a rock against haredi pressure when I thought that railway work on weekends, which had obtained the appropriate authorization, was justified. I thought that work was justified; today, I think it isn't. I made the right professional decision.
"I ruled that work would be done on the electrified train to Jerusalem, not on the bridge. I have the authority to do that. All of the government companies are subject to the same instructions. The mayor of Tel Aviv won't make the decision whether or not to close the Ayalon Highway on Saturday for reasons of municipal elections. The announcements came from his headquarters, not on behalf of the municipality. This was a provocation," Katz stated.
Asked whether he had the authority as minister of transport not to approve work on Saturdays, Katz answered, "I have no authority to approve or not approve work on Saturdays. The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Social Services is responsible for this matter, but I have the authority and duty to set policy and national priorities."
Katz went on to say, "People won't wait one minute in a traffic jam because of this bridge. I have ordered professional staff in the Ayalon Highway Company to find a way of building the bridge at night. They built the Chords Bridge and bridges in Tel Aviv without working on Saturdays and they also built overseas bridges at night. If they don't build it at night, it will be delayed. I hereby announce that they won't close the Ayalon Highway this way six months from now, either."
Katz compared the national importance of the high-speed railway line to Jerusalem to the Yehudit bridge. He hinted that the latter was completely inessential, saying, "It is impossible to close the Ayalon Highway for six weekends in order to build a pedestrian bridge. They've been talking about this bridge for 10 years already… They could have made a light bridge, a normal bridge - this grandiose and half unnecessary thing bears a heavy price.
"When I weigh it against the railway to Jerusalem and completing it so that people will be able to travel directly, the national and economic importance of this thing is incomparable, so the bridge will be postponed six months until all the work on the high-speed railway line is completed," Katz said.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 23, 2018
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018