When the storm forecasts were heard last week, Yaron Levine, CEO of CityPass announced the Jerusalem light rail was built to permit it continue operating, even during a snowstorm.
Officials promised on the eve of the storm that even if Egged stops service in the capital, the light rail would continue but in actuality, light rail service halted in some areas ahead of Egged.
Levine explained that for one thing, and this is the primary response, “the storm was extreme, the kind of storm that exceeds the limitations of the system”. He explains that in countries where snow is frequent the track switches are heated but this is not the case in Jerusalem, where it is not cost efficient due to the infrequency of such storms. In this storm those switches simply froze.
The severity of the storm resulted in damage to the electric grid that feeds the light rail from above and there are no backup generators, once again because of the infrequency of such occurrences.
“We were the only service operating on Thursday night. Remember, it is in our interest to remain operational. We kept service going till 22:00 on Thursday night but conditions no longer permitted this so we halted” he explains.
Regarding the Cords Bridge Levine rightfully stated CityPass did not build the bridge, which came with an exorbitant price tag, approved by former Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert. The bridge is built in such a way that it cannot accommodate snow-clearing equipment, explaining another reason for the halted service.
Levine expects regular service to be restored in a large chunk of the service line during the day. Not all service will be restored today. For as long as there is a danger to passengers at some of the stations, service will not be restored he explained, optimistic that trains will begin running from French Hill to the Central Bus Service and maybe from Mt. Herzl to the bus station. He feels that it is most unlikely that service will be restored north of French Hill on Tuesday 13 Teves due to the accumulation of snow at stations.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem / Photo by http://israelphotos.tumblr.com/)
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2 Responses
Honestly, some of these complaints are unfair.
This storm was ‘one of a kind’, the storm of the century. How could they promise rail service when the light rail is young and it has never prepared for such an event. Yerushalayim is not made, prepared or envision a snow storm of such magnitude. Sort of like Hurricane Sandy, a one of a kind that the tri-state was not equipped for. Let’s spend time on connecting everyones’s electricity, bring supplies to yishuvim and get on with regular life.
Is the author nuts? Trying to make fun of someone and call him a liar for being safe?
Wow, this is a new low!
What if the train would have run “as promised” and Chas v’ Shalom slipped on ice, what would the article headlines read then?
amazing