MKs fight to keep several train lines open

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Knesset members prepared to go head to head with Israel Railways Monday over the company's decision to cancel the train lines between Tel Aviv, Beersheba, and Jerusalem. MKs Moshe Kahlon (Likud) and Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) prepared to take Israel Railways before the Knesset Finance Committee to keep the train lines running, and even add new lines, rather than cancel the project. Last month, the railroad company announced that it was cancelling several lines, and limiting others, due to insufficient public interest and profits. "The Finance Committee will put its whole weight behind this issue in order to better the situation of tens of thousands of train riders from the periphery," said Kahlon. The MK explained that the train lines are vital to people living in periphery communities who need to commute to jobs in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. A committee spokesman said that the train line had not been given enough time to prove its profitability, and that recent construction on the line had added 30 minutes to the journey between Tel Aviv and Beersheba, discouraging many from using the line.