ISRAEL Railways (IR) services have been severely disrupted following extensive damage to overhead electrification equipment at two locations caused by a freight train on August 14.
The freight was heading north from Ashdod to Haifa, and first became entangled in overhead wiring at Ganot Junction, 4.3km east of Holon and south of Tel Aviv. The catenary may have sagged due to the ambient temperature of 39°C, and was dragged by the train which did not stop.
The train later came into contact with the overhead wires a second time at Kfar Vitkin, located north of Tel Aviv between Netanya and Hadera. The catenary masts did not break as the train dragged the wiring they supported, but were torn off their bolted foundations.
Electrification equipment has been severely damaged over several hundred metres, with repairs expected to cost millions of Shekels. IR began work to repair the damage on August 15, with crews working around the clock. Main repairs were expected to take three to four days to complete, and secondary repairs two weeks.
In the meantime, IR has fallen back on diesel traction and passenger services have been severely disrupted. The main line and Kfar-Habad and Ganei Aviv stations between Tel Aviv and Lod are closed, as is the line between Netanya and Binyamina, with replacement bus services in operation.
IR has launched an internal investigation headed by its deputy CEO, Yossi Ben Simchon, while the Ministry of Transport has opened its own parallel investigation. At this stage, the cause of the accident is believed to have been incorrectly secured steel plate or coil carried on double-deck wagons which came into contact with overhead wires.
“Malfunctions happen, we need to examine how this occurred and see these things don't happen again,” says transport minister, Miri Regev.
