One day after a train got stuck in the tunnel from Ben-Gurion Airport to Jerusalem, there were problems with the new high-speed rail line once again, on Tuesday morning, 7 Marcheshvan, resulting in four runs from Jerusalem and Ben-Gurion Airport between 6:30AM and 7:30AM being cancelled.

Israel Railways officials explain the cancellation of the trains was due to a delay in the electrical work on the tracks, which is being carried out by the Semi Company crews. As a result of the delay, the tracks were dedicated for the work crews, which resulted in the cancelation on the Jerusalem-Ben-Gurion Airport line, with service resuming at 7:30AM.

The latest delays represented the third consecutive day with malfunction on the new line, which resulted in the cancellation of train service. On Monday, a train got stuck in a tunnel near the airport with 150 passengers on board. This was due to a malfunction with the locomotive. An alternative locomotive that was on standby was dispatched to connect and bring the train back to Ben-Gurion, where the passengers received water and snacks while they waited.

On Sunday, 22 trips were canceled in the morning and afternoon hours following many mishaps that occurred on the same day, including faults in the infrastructure of the tracks, the signaling systems, and the unit that reads the ‘Rav Kav’ smart cards used by passengers.

Also last week, the tracks were disrupted by an explosion in a water pipeline belonging to one of the communities near Daniel Junction, when Israeli Railways and Mekorot Water Company crews worked for hours to solve the problem. A total of 37 train trips have been canceled since the beginning of the service about a month ago, not too impressive an operating record. That said, the coming months have been dedicated to getting the kinks out of the new system and that is why the express rail is only operating on a limited route between Jerusalem and the airport.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)