The train station in Sderot.
Become a terminal station/Yaniv Khalif, Yaniv Khalif
The train is returning to Sderot, for the first time since the outbreak of the war, but it will take much longer to reach the center than before.
The Ministry of Transportation announced today that, under the direction of Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Israel Railways will reopen the train station in Sderot, a step that many of the Otaf residents who work in the center were looking forward to.
But they are in for a disappointment: instead of reaching the center in about an hour and a quarter as in the past, the trip will take almost two hours, because it will be done through Beer Sheva.
The reason: as published in Walla Car, the IDF refuses to allow train traffic in the section between Sderot and Ashkelon because of the section in the area of the railway bridge near Sderot, which is exposed to fire from Gaza. This is a known weak point,
which the ministries of transportation and defense have neglected to address for more than a decade due to a dispute over who will carry the cost of treating her.
The soldiers serving in the south, or who have to come home for vacation/Reuven Castro, are also severely affected
Following the war, the IDF determined that the threat had become even more acute, due to the use of new weapons by Hamas, and dramatically increased the protection requirements for the section. If in the past an investment of approximately NIS 100 million was required to protect the section, now the costs are approximately NIS 800 million, which The government is in no rush to finance.
In the meantime, the train is working to make operational adjustments to the rail infrastructure at the Sderot station, including changes to the signaling facilities, which will allow it to become a terminal station, where it will be possible to end and start the train route.
In the first and immediate phase, starting today, the hours of operation on the Bar line will be extended by approximately two hours Sheva-Ofakim-Netivot (in both directions), to improve the availability of trains in the area. The
last train will leave from Nativot station at 21:59 to Ofakim stations (22:09), Beer Sheva North University (22:27) and Beer Sheva Center (22: 36). The last train will depart from the Be'er Sheva Central La'Otef station at 9:09 p.m. to the Be'er Sheva North University stations (9:16 p.m.), Ofakim (8:34 p.m.) and Nativut (8:44 p.m.)
. Train movements," Yaniv, a resident of Sderot, wrote this week. "Today, a resident of the Western Negev who wants to get to the Tel Aviv area has to take a shuttle from the train station in Sderot to the train station in Ashkelon and board the train there.
In addition, the Ministry of Transportation did not take care to reinforce the line 378 that leaves Ofakim and goes through Netivot and Sderot to Tel Aviv, but only operates once an hour.
which comes out once an hour.
Someone in the Ministry of Transportation woke up and will provide us with a normal alternative."
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