The inquiry was initiated after an Israel Railways passenger train struck a private vehicle at the Beit Yehoshua railway crossing near Netanya on June 12th. The crash left five dead and more than 80 injured.
Major-General (ret.) Yossi Peled headed the committee that investigated the incident. In the wake of what Mofaz called “a grave report, whose recommendations must be implemented,” the minister formed a new body to report monthly on the progress of carrying out of the recommendations.
Just today, another train crash was averted at the last second when the conductor was able to slam on the brakes at the sight of a truck on the tracks. The truck reportedly tried to cross the tracks even though the barriers were down. Nissim Keinan reported on Voice of Israel Radio that the police have given out no fewer than 169 tickets to drivers who did not stop at train tracks when the light was red - over the past five days alone.
Both the Transportation Ministry and Israel Railways were slammed in the report, charged with ongoing neglect of the railway crossings that are level with roads.
“There were years of safety neglect of all kinds,” said Mofaz.
The crossings were the most critical issue, with the report focusing on plans already on the table to build split-level crossings which would eliminate the possibility of trains coming into contact with vehicles on the roads. It was recommended that the planned construction be advanced. “There were faults of every nature in erecting barriers at crossings,” said Mofaz. “There were serious oversights in the process of constructing the split-level crossings and they cannot be ignored.”
The lack of a supervisory body, comprised of professionals appointed by the government to oversee Israel Railways activity and safety issues was also raised as a major concern. The report recommended that specific job descriptions and their attendant authority be clearly delineated by the Transportation Ministry, and that the ministry directly supervise Israel Railways.
Major-General (ret.) Yossi Peled headed the committee that investigated the incident. In the wake of what Mofaz called “a grave report, whose recommendations must be implemented,” the minister formed a new body to report monthly on the progress of carrying out of the recommendations.
Just today, another train crash was averted at the last second when the conductor was able to slam on the brakes at the sight of a truck on the tracks. The truck reportedly tried to cross the tracks even though the barriers were down. Nissim Keinan reported on Voice of Israel Radio that the police have given out no fewer than 169 tickets to drivers who did not stop at train tracks when the light was red - over the past five days alone.
Both the Transportation Ministry and Israel Railways were slammed in the report, charged with ongoing neglect of the railway crossings that are level with roads.
“There were years of safety neglect of all kinds,” said Mofaz.
The crossings were the most critical issue, with the report focusing on plans already on the table to build split-level crossings which would eliminate the possibility of trains coming into contact with vehicles on the roads. It was recommended that the planned construction be advanced. “There were faults of every nature in erecting barriers at crossings,” said Mofaz. “There were serious oversights in the process of constructing the split-level crossings and they cannot be ignored.”
The lack of a supervisory body, comprised of professionals appointed by the government to oversee Israel Railways activity and safety issues was also raised as a major concern. The report recommended that specific job descriptions and their attendant authority be clearly delineated by the Transportation Ministry, and that the ministry directly supervise Israel Railways.