Two days before planned operations on the Jerusalem fast-rail link are scheduled to begin, Israel Police and fire and rescue services have successfully carried out an emergency drill and finally approved the line. Israel Police announced, "According to the instructions of Israel Railways and other organizations and under recognized limitations Israel Police approves the opening of the line." Passenger services between Jerusalem and Ben Gurion airport will begin Tuesday.
The fire and rescue services have given only temporary approval for the operation of passenger services for one month until completion of required changes to the line.
As reported by "Globes" last week, when a special test run was made with a train operating from Jerusalem's new Yitzhak Navon Station to Ben Gurion airport on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transport Minister Yisrael Katz, Israel Railways had yet to receive the required approvals for commercial passenger train operations.
The line has also yet to receive the required safety approval from the Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) International institute. However, following today's successful emergency drill this is expected to be granted tomorrow.
The drill conducted today was carried out deep in one of the line's longest tunnels to ensure that special trains and vehicles can reach any incident.
The new station in Jerusalem, Yitzhak Navon Station, is 80 meters deep, and located opposite the central bus station at the western entrance to the city. In the first stage, trains will only run from Jerusalem to Ben Gurion airport where passengers will change to a diesel train until electrification of the line is completed to Tel Aviv.
Optimistic estimates say it will take another 3-6 months before the line is fully operational. In the first stage there will be only one train per hour between Jerusalem and Ben Gurion airport station where passengers will change to a diesel train. When fully operational there will be one train every 15 minutes.
For the time being Jerusalem residents can travel for free on the train, if they book in advance.
The cost of the high-speed train to Jerusalem, the Ministry of Transport's largest-ever project, is estimated at NIS 7 billion. The line is designed to connect Israel's capital to the Greater Tel Aviv metropolitan area and the central region and relieve traffic congestion. Travel time from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the last stop on the line, is meant to be 28 minutes.
The project was first started in 2001, but following a series of managerial missteps, the completion date was postponed from 2008 to 2017 and then to March 2018. The line is 57 kilometers long, including 32 kilometers on a new segment from Kfar Daniel to Jerusalem containing nine bridges, and five tunnels totaling 19 kilometers.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 23, 2018
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