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Friday 31 December 2010

Friday 31st December News Brief

Burnt Train didn't meet standards

The train fire earlier this week according the Jerusalem Post could be because the train did not meet safety standards introduced in 2006.

Israel's First Eco-Friendly Road

Isrrael's National Roads Company has paved 1 km of Road 85 in the east Carmiel near Acre with a new eco-friendly material made of asphalt and rubber pellets from warn car tyres. The new material is the same cost as  traditional asphalt but with the new rubber pellets the lifespan of the road should increase by one-third. 

This experiment was jointly carried out by the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The rubber accounts for 3% of the asphalt blend, but the quantity of rubber could be doubled in future, which would result in the use of almost 4,000 used tires per kilometer of road.  If successful this could prove excellent use for millions of decommissioned car tyres.

Wednesday 29 December 2010

Wednesday 29th December 2010 News Brief

New toll lane to open into Tel Aviv

A new toll lane will open on the Jerusalem to Tel Aviv Route 1 on 7th January. The new fast lane which motorists will have to pay to use will run one-way between Ben Gurion Airport and the Ayanlon Highway at the entrance to Tel Aviv. The price to use the lane will vary between 6 shekels and 75 shekels based on the level of traffic at that time.

Comment: I believe this new toll lane will be the beginning of an improved transport infrastructure in Israel. For too long anyone trying to drive or get the bus into Tel Aviv has been stuck in endless delays, not only ruining peoples' journeys but costing the economy millions of shekels. This new pay lane which combines with a new park and ride bus shuttle service into Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan should start to improve the travel experience in Israel.


Fire on Train
A fire broke out yesterday on a Tel Aviv bound train leaving many passengers moderately injured. The fire is likely to have occured due to an electrical fault in the rear engine. As reported on ynetworryingly the driver had no way of knowing about the fire apart from the shouts from passengers, as the train had no warning system.



Drunk Driving

It is reported in Haaretz that a Kadima MK has said that Israel's road safety problem is partly caused by the drinking habit of Russian immigrants.