Timetable Changes on Israel's Railways in November and Jerusalem Light Rail - A review

Timetable Changes on Israel's Railways in November


Israel Railways have announced the following cancellations to routes during November.

The Akko to Nahariyya Line will be closed between 1 November and 18 November and replaced with a free bus shuttle.


On Friday 4 November there will be no service between Haifa and Nahariyya with regular bus services being available instead.


Between 7 November and 20 December there will be no services between Rishon Le Zion and Lod to be replaced by a shuttle bus.





Jerusalem Light Rail - A review
Oren Hirsch the creator of the unofficial Jerusalem Bus Map has published an optimistic review of the initial months of the Jerusalem Light Rail.

El AL to charge $70 for second suitcase, Airport Crash Averted at Ben Gurion Airport, A view on the Jerusalem Light Rail

El AL to charge $70 for second suitcase 

El Al have announced have announced that from 1 November 2011 they will started charging $70 for the second suitcase checked in for economy seat/coach passengers on flights to and from Israel.

Airport Crash Averted at Ben Gurion Airport

Air Traffic controllers at Ben Gurion Airport narrolwy avoided a crash on Monday betwen an Israir plane and and Ukrainian aircraft.  Both pilots thought they had been given permission to head to the runway to begin take-off at the same time, before airline controllers realised the mistake an ensured an orderly take-off.


Flight safety issuers have previously been a concern at Ben Gurion Airport and the airport safety status for Ben Gurion Airport was downgraded last year.

A view on the Jerusalem Light Rail


The Jerusalem Post today has a column on the new light rail and how it is working well.  What do you think?

Tender opens to provide bus services in Modiin, Modiin Illit and Ramle

The Ministry of Transport in Israel has issued a new tender to operate public transport services in Modiin, Modiin Illit and Ramle.

Currently 340,000 passengers use the existing public transport services within and around Modiin each week and includes approximately 350 bus routes, which are currently provided by Superbus and Connex/Veolia.

Railway Workers in Israel again told to return to work, Jerusalem Central Bus Station Needs to Cut Pollution and Most Israeli's want public transport to work on Shabbat

Railway Workers in Israel again told to return to work

As the dispute between Israel Railways and the Railway Workers Union continued in Israel in the lead-up to Rosh Hashana, the Labour Court again ordered workers to return to work and to continue negotiations during October.


Jerusalem Central Bus Station Needs to Cut Pollution

The Environmental Ministry has ordered the Jerusalem Central Bus Station to install a barrier between the bus platform and the building's interior, after finding the air in the bus station is extremely polluted, according to the Jerusalem Post.  This follows tests which have shown the air in the station to be four or five times more polluted than the acceptable level.


The high level of pollution results from the lack of ventilation around the bus platforms in Jerusalem's Central Bus Station.



Most Israeli's want public transport to work on Shabbat

According to a new "religion and State index" poll, ahead of the Jewish New Year, carried out by the Smith Institute 63% of the Jewish population in Israel supports the operation of public transportation on Shabbat.

Israel Railway Workers ordered back to work, Rapid Bus Transit System proposed for the Sharon Region, Israel to learn from China to improve Transportation, Work begins on the Tel Aviv Light Railway

Israel Railway Workers ordered back to work

Following Thursday's strike by railway workers in Israel over concerns of the privatisation of Israel Railways, the Labour Court ordered workers to return to work on Friday afternoon.  The Court required both the workers Union and Israel Railways to return to negotiations aspreviously mandated.

At Wednesday's meeting between Israel Railways and the Union, railway workers were offered an extensive assurances following any privatisation, with it proposed that maintenance would continue to be conducted by Israel Railway workers for the next 20 years according to Haaretz.

Rapid Bus Transit System proposed for the Sharon Region

Globes are reporting that Ayalon Highways are planning to publish a tender by the end of 2011 for a Rapid Bus Transit System in the Sharon Region of Israel to begin operating by February 2015.

A Rapid Bus Transit System is a quicker and more efficient bus network, achieved through improving existing road infrastructure, buses and schedules.

The first tender worth 1 billion Shekels s for the infrastructure work alongside and beneath existing roads, along which the new bus network will run.  There will also be further tenders to procure large-capacity buses and build bus stops.

The Sharon Region Rapid Bus Transit system will comprise three major bus lines with bus lanes as currently exists in Jerusalem.

Line 1 will run from Greater Tel Aviv and include Kfar Saba, Raanana and Herzliya.

Lines 2 will run via the Moreshet Interchange on Road 4 between Kfar Saba and Tel Aviv.

Line 3 will run along Road 2 from Tel Aviv to Raanana and Herzliya.

Each bus will be able to carry 200 passengers and will have a frequency between 3 minutes and 5 minutes.

The network will see the introduction of bus lanes along all routes as currently exists in Jerusalem.

Israel to learn from China to improve Transportation

Israel Katz, Transport Minister in Israel has this week reached an agreement with the Chinese Transport Minister Li Shenglin to share their ideas on transport infrastructure, according to China's People's Daily.  Israel Katz would like to see how Israel could adpot similar ideas to the High Speed Rail Network and light rail systems already working well in China.

Work begins on the Tel Aviv Light Railway

Following years of planning physical work this week began on the Tel Aviv Light Railway.  The Tel Aviv Light Railway is scheduled to start operating in 2017.  The intensive infrastructure work which will cause most disruption is scheduled to take place between 2013 and 2015 when the tunnels and stations are built.

Green Transportation Week in Israel, EL AL sign agreement with WestJet

Green Transportation Week in Israel


As part of the Green Transportation week in Israel the Jerusalem Post is reporting that 400 bikers and rollerbladers will converge in Tel Aviv this evening.  The event being organised by the Israel Bike Association begins at 9pm at the Cinematheque Plaza and will follow a 25km route.

The bikers association are using this week as a launch-pad to make cycling in Israel safer and more convenient.  For example the association are working with Israel Railways to provide bike hooks and holsters for bikes to be stored on trains.



EL AL sign agreement with WestJet

El Al last week signed an agreement with Canadian WestJet airline so that passengers flying on El AL from Israel to Toronto Airport will now be able to purchase connecting flight tickets on WestJet to 30 Canadian airports, Florida and the Caribbean.  El Al's Matmid Frequent Flyers will receive an additional 20% in points for join El AL - WestJet flights booked fro November 2011.

El AL already has similar agreements with JetBlue, American Airlines and Virgin America.

Railway Workers in Israel could Strike on Wednesday and New Eye Test for Drivers

Railway Workers in Israel could Strike on Wednesday

Following the announcement last week by the Railways Workers Union in Israel that they may strike over the privatisation of Israel Railways, the Labour Court yesterday granted the Union permission to strike, but has required the Union and Israel Railways to conduct negotiations.

The next meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday after which the Union will decide whether to continue with the negotiations or begin a strike.


New Eye  Test for Drivers

Following the introduction of a new regulation in Israel,  from the beginning of 2012 citizens who are aged 40 or above will now be required to have a vision test every 10 years to maintain their driving licence.

The Ministry of Transport has therefore started sending out letters to drivers whose driving licences are due for renewal in 2012 and are aged 40 or over, to require them to have the new vision test before their licence can be renewed.  The new regulation was introduced following a study by the Gertner Institute for Medical Policy which found that drivers with impaired vision, may affect their ability to drive and endanger themselves and others.

The new regulation will also require drivers aged 70 and above to have an eye examination every 5 years.  Drivers aged 80 and above will require an eye test every 2 years.