One of Israel Railways' plans for next year is a loop connecting the northern Tel Aviv - Sharon region suburbs. The new route will begin operating after a track is completed connecting the coastal line to the West Ra'anana railway station. A change in the signals system planned for next year will make it possible to operate the route from the beginning of 2020. The route will pass through from the Herzliya railway station, the Bnei Brak railway station near the Ramat Hahayal neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva's railway stations, Rosh HaAyin, Hod Hasharon and the Ra'anana railway stations.
Sanctions by the Israel Railways workers are liable to delay the change in the signals system. At the same time, the workers have not previously disrupted operations of railway routes and opening of railway stations. The route is designed to redress the backwardness in public transportation in Israel through a strategy of encouraging passengers to switch trains. Another means employed by Israel Railways to relieve crowding on trains and shorten travel times is buying new carriages, which has already been approved by a joint team of Israel Railways, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Finance.
The route will be a substitute for light railways and bus rapid transit (BRT) systems planned in the Sharon area. The Pink Line, one of the BRT routes planned to connect Kfar Saba and Herzliya via Ra'anana, was canceled due to strong opposition by the Ra'anana municipality, which refused to allocate a lane for it on the crowded Ahuza Street, the main street in Ra'anana. An underground metro route is planned for these cities, but this will not happen before 2030.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 15, 2019
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