New Jerusalem - Tel Aviv train service disrupted, two weeks after opening

Passengers, required to purchase tickets online using mobile phones, complain no updates about disruptions were sent.

By HAGAY HACOHEN
Updated: OCTOBER 9, 2018 11:07
TRAIN LINE maintenance taking place on Shabbat led to tense disputes in the Knesset this week. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
TRAIN LINE maintenance taking place on Shabbat led to tense disputes in the Knesset this week.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
The newly-built train line between Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport was not operational for four hours Tuesday, due to a water-pipe bursting.
The disruption was in the area of Daniel Junction and Beit Shemesh.
The train authority provided passengers traveling from Ben Gurion Airport with buses to ensure they arrived at their destination. Passengers leaving from the new Yitzhak Navon Station in Jerusalem pointed out that they were required to register for the new train line with their mobile phones, but they were not notified of the cancellations.
Train service resumed after 10 a.m. 
The new train line opened two weeks ago and offers passengers service between the capital and Ben Gurion Airport, where they can use the existing train service from the airport to Tel Aviv. The plan is to eventually extend the new train line so it will go directly from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.
The official social media page of Israel Railways, which sports the slogan "simply enjoy the journey", contained several angry comments by customers.
"Today I needed to go to Jerusalem on a Business Trip and chose to use the Yitzhak Navon Line for faster access but they Charged me TWICE," one man wrote, complaining he did not get a refund.
"[I] simply don’t understand, given how small this country is that you can’t get your act together," wrote another.
The new train service, officially called the King David Line, was inaugurated in September 19 by a special train carrying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Israel Katz, as well as a large number of reporters and photographers.


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