The commercial operation of the Jerusalem light rail is liable to be delayed by several more months, due to a dispute on giving the trains priority at traffic lights. It turns out that there is still not clarity on a key question: will the trains have full priority, or partial priority, over motor vehicles at traffic lights.
The 13.8-kilometer Red Line of the light rail system will pass through 100 traffic lights. In a few days, expert Avi Odvin is due to represent his conclusions in the dispute to the arbitrators, District Court Judge Emeritus Boaz Okun and Adv. Dov Weissglass.
If it is decided to give the trains full priority, it will reportedly not be possible to reconfigure the traffic lights before next summer. At a meeting last Wednesday, Odvin raised the possibility of adjusting the traffic lights system while the light railway is operating, so there will not be any delay in the start of rail service.
In a separate development, Dan Public Transportation Co. Ltd. intends to petition the court against the sale of Jerusalem light rail operating rights to bus rival Egged Israel Transport Cooperative Society Ltd.. On Friday, it was reported that Veolia Transportation SA, which is due to operate the light rail, had agreed to sell its operating rights and 5% of the light rail franchisee CityPass to Egged for NIS 45 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 17, 2010
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