In the background of the coalition negotiations, yesterday (Tuesday) the Likud presented a list of demands in various fields, one of which is transportation.
In Likud they demand to promote the launch of a multi-year plan for a cross-Israel "bullet train", including the allocation of the necessary budgets for planning and execution upon completion of the planning.
"Bullet train" is the name given to the super-speed trains that were born in Japan, but today also operate in China and Europe, and move at a speed of more than 300 km/h, on routes of hundreds of kilometers. Such trains are a substitute for airplanes, but they require an expensive and separate infrastructure from the rest The trains are not built for many intermediate stops, and are only economically viable on lines that can serve millions of passengers a year.
"Bullet train" in Japan (Photo: ShutterStock)
The fact that the proposed passenger train from the center to Eilat is planned to operate at a speed of 300 km/h is one of the reasons that the estimated price tag for the project is NIS 40 billion, which is why the Ministry of Finance has so far refused to finance it. Another reason is the political inability to operate it seven days a week.
In the program Israel Railways' strategy for 2040 is to build a train that will travel at 250 km/h between the major cities - Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Be'er Sheva.
However, even at such speeds, separate and expensive infrastructures are needed, and transportation experts claim that because the distances are not long in Israel, it is possible to make do with 200 km/h trains, which can travel on the same infrastructure as the slower trains, saving billions in infrastructure investment and wasting space on additional tracks.
promises something wasteful and impractical.
Netanyahu (photo: official website, Likud spokesperson)
Likud also promised to speed up the construction of the metro in Gush Dan, a project costing 200-150 billion shekels, which requires a lot of high-speed trains, given the worsening traffic jams in the center.
However, the promise stands in complete contrast to the party's refusal to support before the elections the approval of the metro law, which would have significantly accelerated the execution of the project.
The fact that the law was not approved in the second and third readings in the previous Knesset will require its re-approval in committees in the next Knesset, and will result in a delay of months.
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