Hoping to polish image, rail breaks ground for Netivot stop

National rail carrier struggling to rehabilitate image after spate of recent train accidents, including a collision last week near Netanya.

By OREN KESSLER
Israrail train Bombardier 311 (photo credit: Bombardier)
Israrail train Bombardier 311
(photo credit: Bombardier)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu laid the cornerstone Tuesday for a rail station in Netivot, the middle stop on an Ashkelon-Beersheba line that promises to transport passengers between the two southern cities in under 50 minutes.
The new route, set to begin operating in 2015, will also include stops in Ofakim and Sderot.
RELATED:60 injured as 2 trains collide near Netanya station
The line is one of several ongoing projects at Israel Railways, including the Tel Aviv- Jerusalem high-speed rail (slated for completion in 2017) and Tel Aviv-Bnei Darom (set to be ready in 2012).
Plans are also in the works for Kiryat Motzkin-Karmiel, Haifa- Beit She’an and Hod Hasharon- Herzliya lines, as well as an extension to the Tel Aviv-Modi’in line to reach Jerusalem’s International Convention Center (Binyanei Ha’uma).
Israel’s national rail carrier is struggling to rehabilitate its image after a spate of recent train accidents, including a collision last week near Netanya that injured dozens and caused disruptions to weekend rail service.
Last month a brake malfunction led to fire breaking out in a Tel Aviv-bound train from Nahariya, causing smoke emission but no injuries.
In December, 120 people were hurt when a gas leak caused a fire on a train near Netanya, forcing some passengers to evacuate through windows.
That incident spurred Israel Railways to pull dozens of carriages out of service to be examined, curtailing service throughout the country for some three weeks.