Jerusalem’s light rail suffered repeated disruptions on Tuesday afternoon after a private car struck a lighting pole in the Kiryat Moshe area. Around 12:20 p.m., the city’s L1 line, which runs between Hadassah Ein Kerem and Neve Yaakov, was stopped entirely when the damaged pole collapsed onto the overhead power system and shut down service along the route.
Maintenance crews worked through the day to repair the damage, and service was restored only in parts, then changed again several times. At first, trains ran between Danya Square and Hadassah Ein Kerem and between the Central Bus Station and Neve Yaakov. Later, service also resumed between the Central Bus Station and Hail HaAvir.
The partial recovery did not hold. In the afternoon, the rail operator reported another electrical fault in the Jaffa Center area, which led to suspension of service between the Davidka station and Hadassah Ein Kerem. At that point, the line was operating only in fragments between Hail HaAvir and Davidka, while passengers were directed to regular bus lines and reinforced bus service.
By 4:00 p.m., more than three and a half hours after the initial failure, full service had still not been restored. In response to the repeated breakdowns, the Transportation Ministry said Director General Moshe Ben-Zaken had scheduled an urgent meeting to consider replacing the operating concessionaire, Kfir, as soon as possible.
