Even in terms of the familiar problematic image of Israel Railways, it seems that this week this organization managed to break its own records.
This, through a laconic, incidental announcement in the Knesset committee, which has enormous implications for the daily lives of millions of citizens in Israel.
As part of the electrification project of the railway tracks, which began in 2017, it was decided that the Israel Railways would be electrified about a thousand kilometers across the country (the vast majority of passenger lines). As part of the project, 15 electric hate stations will be set up that draw the high voltage from the electricity company, and match the voltage appropriate to the train's activity. At the same time, garages and technical treatment complexes are also being built from north to south.
The ultimate goal is to establish electricity infrastructure in the form of pillars connected to the control and computing systems, on which electrical cables are stretched to help propel the trains.
But this week, during a discussion in the Knesset's Transportation Committee, it was announced that by 2025, trains to the periphery are not expected to operate at night, on Fridays and on Saturday evenings;
This situation is not new - it has been going on for many months, but for the train passengers it was a "temporary inconvenience".
Now, they have indirectly learned that this situation will remain the same for many years to come.
They were not surprised - many of the passengers we spoke to had already been disappointed - but nonetheless, it seemed to the elected public that this was shocking news.
During the Knesset debate, the chairman of the Economy Committee, MK Michael Bitton, and the initiator of the debate, MK Yael Ron Ben Moshe, reprimanded the leaders of the train, whose absence was noticeable: The Israeli. "
On the train you will excuse the absence by never receiving a summons for a hearing, but only a link to the zoom.
And in this troll between the Knesset and the Israel Railways, stands the little citizen who continues, as Shalom Hanoch once sang, to pay big.
The Ministry of Transportation promised that in about a month, several lines will also open on Fridays, and in about four months, the line to Jerusalem will also open.
But Chairman Bitton demanded to formulate an alternative plan within a month. Bitton does not seem to really understand how the train works, and it is doubtful whether anyone will really be able to provide him with an alternative plan that will meet the needs he imagines.
"You will find solutions"
The electrification project is an important national issue, but in practice - the works on it are forcing masses of passengers into daily distress.
"Everyone works for everyone, and in the end the one who is knocked is the passenger," says Maoz Yinon, a member of the Binyamina Council and who runs the leading struggle page on the "By Train" network, which has more than 12,000 members: "Every time we are rolled from place to place. , The Ministry of Transport for the railway, and if there is one thing that is common to all parties, it is that not everyone really provides us with answers and is not transparent.
A passenger gets on a train (those photographed have nothing to do with the news), Photo: Yossi Zeliger
"Now say 2025, does that make sense to you? We demand that they open the contract with the Spanish contractor of the railway and see how he does not meet the deadlines, and how things can be improved. In the end we will be told that 2040 will be good? How is that possible?"
According to Yinon, the thing that bothers passengers the most is "the lack of transparency. There is not a single place in Israel where the train publishes detailed schedules for the works. Nothing. The bitter truth is that the Israel Railways does not put us on. We struggle but they do not count us. The train to the tracks. "
Talia Reiter, who lives in Haifa and travels to her family in Ramat Hasharon on Fridays, experiences a regular scene every week, with the disabled train lines replaced by buses.
"Everyone who leaves Haifa and from the north to the center every Friday knows the situation - a bus and another bus pass you when they are full. Those who live far away - in trouble.
"You often see young women crying at bus stops because they are in real distress. They have no way to get home. When I went to the Ministry of Transportation, I got the same answer every four times. "One lucky person will be able to take you to it. Where will the shuttles be reinforced? They say there is electricity on the train, this is not a surprise, you will find solutions to it. The main thing is that we, the citizens, are asked to report the problems we encounter."
The train emphasizes that the disruptions resulting from current maintenance and improvement tasks are ultimately for the benefit of the citizens, even if they are forced to pay the price: "We are constantly in this tension between the present and the future, .
A journey on the way to a destination
Last June, Merav Michaeli was appointed Minister of Transportation.
Upon taking office, she announced her intention to put public transportation at the core of her office and stated: "There will be a train to Kiryat Shmona - my word. These are not just words - in the next five years we will double public transportation in the north of the country, including promoting rail to Kiryat Shmona."
But a study of the budget of Israel Railways, which stands at NIS 46 billion, reveals no plan for the construction of additional tracks in the north.
A train to Kiryat Shmona also promised Michaeli's predecessors in office and failed to perform.
A source close to the matter said this week that "Michaeli is not to blame and it is certain that her intentions are good, but on the Israel Railways no one is counted - not even her - unless she starts knocking on the table."
The Ministry of Transportation said that they had formulated a five-year plan for the development of the train, amounting to NIS 46 billion: "The plan is intended to significantly advance the electrification of the train and the construction of new tracks."
A free alternative.
Michaeli, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
At the beginning of last month, a hearing was held in the Tel Aviv Regional Court, which was attended by the chairman of the Railway Workers' Committee, Gila Edrei. The new electricians, and asked the court to intervene.
At the request of management, the workers' committee impaired the company's ability to meet its commitment to the public and the government, and this led to serious damages that could jeopardize the train's ability to meet deadlines.
The court accepted the management's claims, but it seems that for the Israeli public the result is currently insufficient, even if the train, according to their understanding, is trying to do its best.
One can understand the traveling public.
Getting to and from Tel Aviv has become quite a difficult task, and the large volume digs and builds itself all the way to first place in the world in the cost of living.
The train, the oldest transportation solution in the modern world, was supposed to meet most needs: fast, cheap, reliable, green and most importantly connects the Israeli periphery to the heart of its only metropolis.
In practice, the suffering is considerable.
"I live in front of Rishonim station," says Yaron Urbani, a resident of Rishon Lezion whose garage is located in Hod Hasharon. It has become uncomfortable and cumbersome, and I prefer to take my car.
"It's not that the train shortened my times, it was still a journey of more than an hour, but when I got off at my station in Hod Hasharon I would continue with the scooter until work. Today the task of getting from Rishon Lezion to Hod Hasharon by train - is already big for me."
Other residents of Rishon LeZion referred us to a post published by Mayor Raz Kinstlich, in which he stated that he had contacted the Minister of Transportation for solutions. In practice, the residents seemed to understand that Next year they will have to find their own ways to get in and out of their workplace.
"Effort to shorten works"
On the train, they emphasize the difficulty of combining the works with the need to provide the best service.
"We give the best service to the public and while moving we also electrify the train," they explain. Haifa. It's like imagining that there was no other road except the coastal road and work was being done on it. That's our situation today.
"If we had 'Route 6' on the train, we could still allow a train from another route, but we don't have that, and that's a given. We're looking for the highway where we do not hit busy days when demand is high. There are no more than ten thousand passengers on the train, compared to 200,000 people the rest of the week. We have chosen the times when the amount of travel is the lowest. By 2025 we will electrify all the thousand kilometers, We will not wait for the end of the whole process. "
The train would like to mention that the work was originally completed in 2030, and now the date has been brought forward to 2025, following the opening of the contract with the Spanish contractor and a change in such and other processes: The citizens. "
The Ministry of Transportation added that upon Michaeli's entry into office, she assumed that wherever the service was damaged due to the electrification works, free alternative commutes would be provided for the benefit of the passengers.
Regarding the choice of stops for train traffic, they explained: "The electrical work is carried out at night, on Fridays and on Saturdays, when the number of passengers is significantly lower.
The Ministry of Transportation and the Israel Railways make great efforts to shorten the schedules of work to electrify the train system in Israel as much as possible.
When the work is completed, the train system in Israel will be based entirely on electric trains and will be in line with the advanced countries in Europe. "
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