On Tuesday, the Knesset Finance Committee unanimously approved an NIS 11.7 billion budget transfer to Israel Railways to finance its new operating agreement. At the committee meeting, both the Ministry of Transport director general and Israel Railways CEO Boaz Tzafrir said there has been a positive turnaround at the company, including leaner management, improved customer services, much better punctuality and safety, more daily trains, and the expansion of current lines and the building of new ones.
"The Finance Committee considers strengthening Israel Railways to be very important, but it must meet the targets set and greatly increase the number of passengers and cargo trains to reduce road congestion and contribute to the campaign against traffic accidents," said Finance Committee chairman MK Nissan Slomiansky (Habayit Hayehudi). "An efficient and accessible railroad is a paramount public interest and a national symbol of an advanced economy. The Finance Committee will continue monitoring the progress of expanding the current rail network and the construction of new lines."
Tzafrir said, "We aim to reach 70 million passengers in 2020, and increase the length of track from the current 1,100 kilometers to 1,700 by 2020. We currently have 402 trains a day, and from mid-June, we'll have 450 trains a day, and we'll have 860 trains a day in 2020. We're working hard on a new corporate culture, restructuring, empowering managers, and improving the product. The new attitude is administrative-business and operational oriented; reform throughout Israel Railways' administration.
"Our cargo target is to increase cargo from 6.2 million tons in 2013 to 14.3 million tons in 2020, which will boost cargo income from NIS 146 million to NIS 256 million."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 29, 2014
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