ISRAEL Railways Ltd was separated from the Israeli Ports Authority and established as a privately-structured state-owned company on July 1. For the moment IR remains attached to the Ministry of Transport, but it is expected to be able to raise finance on the open market. Over the next six years IR Ltd will aim to obtain a total of US$4bn, with US$1·3bn sourced from the finance markets in Israel and elsewhere.
The new company’s budget for 2003 totals US$580m compared with US$279m for IR in its previous form. According to General Manager Yossi Snir, the length of the IR network will increase from 700 route-km to 1100 route-km during the next six years, and a programme of development projects is already in hand which will see continued expansion of the IR network (below). However, seeds of doubt over future plans were sown when newly-appointed Chairman of IR Ltd Moshe Leon announced on July 2 that Yossi Snir would leave his post after two months, during which he is expected to overlap with his successor.
Transport Minister Avigdor Liberman has instructed IR Ltd to start planning construction of a new line between Kessem Junction at Rosh Ha’Ayin North, and the town of Ariel, 29 km to the east - preliminary design was in hand in the late 1990s. Later extensions could take the route northwards to Nablus and Jenin, ultimately joining a planned route from Haifa into Jordan via Bet Sha’an (RG 5.1998 p294). Our correspondent reports that the line to Ariel and beyond will be called the ’Line for Peace’ and that ’the Palestinian people will be able to use it between Gaza and the West Bank instead of using private cars’.
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked for a feasibility study into construction of a 175 km line from the phosphate deposits at Har Zin to Eilat on the Red Sea. Netanyahu noted that because of the restricted size of ships able to traverse the Suez Canal higher tonnages are being shipped round Africa; an alternative would see the proposed line from Eilat used as a landbridge between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
| Project | Cost US$m | Completion | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shapirim – Ben Gurion Airport link | 29·3 | Jan 2004 | u/c |
| Tel Aviv – Rishon Le Zion (Rishonim) | 9·3 | Sep 2003 | u/c |
| Freight link to Ramat Hovav terminal | 16·3 | Feb 2004 | u/c |
| Upgrade of line to Jerusalem | 88·6 | Apr 2004 | u/c |
| Ashdod – Ashkelon doubling | 49·5 | Feb 2006 | u/c |
| Ben Gurion Airport – Modi’in | 262·3 | Apr 2005 | u/c |
| Be’er Sheva – Dimona upgrade | 39·8 | Jan 2005 | u/c |
| Tel Aviv – Moshe Dayan | 154·0 | Apr 2008 | planned |
| Moshe Dayan – Rishon Le Zion West | 165·8 | Feb 2008 | planned |
| Kfar Sava Nordau – Kfar Sava Sokolov | 13·9 | Apr 2004 | planned |
| Doubling Tel Aviv – Kfar Sava | 117·0 | Mar 2006 | planned |
| Doubling Qiryat Motzkin – Nahariya | 55·6 | Apr 2005 | planned |
| Doubling Lod – Naan | 47·2 | Feb 2005 | planned |
| Doubling Naan – Be’er Sheva | 214·2 | Feb 2007 | planned |
| Ashkelon – Be’er Sheva | 211·6 | Feb 2008 | planned |
| Akko – Karmi’el | 219·3 | Feb 2008 | planned |
| Kfar Sava – Ra’ananna – Herzliya | 266·4 | Feb 2008 | planned |
| Moshe Dayan – Pleshet link | 107·2 | Apr 2007 | planned |
| Haifa – Afula – Bet Sha’an – Jordan | 209·3 | Mar 2007 | proposed |
| Modi’in – Jerusalem high speed link | 744·2 | Feb 2009 | proposed |
| Electrification of main lines | 372·0 | 2010 | proposed |
| Freight infrastructure | 99·6 | 2007 | proposed |
| Level crossing grade separation | 116·3 | 2007 | proposed |
| Communications upgrade | 46·5 | 2007 | proposed |
| Rolling stock investment | 581·4 | 2007 | planned |
| Security and safety improvements | 23·3 | 2007 | planned |
CAPTION: IR services from Ramla and Tel Aviv to Rosh Ha’Ayin were extended to Kfar Sava Nordau (above) with effect from April 13. Stations at Rosh Ha’Ayin North and Rishon Le Zion (Rishonim) are due to open on September 15.
