Israel Railways Faces Scrutiny Over Jerusalem Line Safety Measures

Israel Railways has initiated a campaign reminding passengers on the Jerusalem line to obtain registration vouchers in addition to paying for their tickets. These vouchers are intended to track passenger numbers per train, ensuring compliance with a police limit of 1,200 people per train, a recommendation from the Fire and Rescue Services. While this requirement has been in place since April, it has largely gone unenforced due to low demand, as such high passenger loads typically occur only on a fraction of trains, primarily on Thursdays.

However, Israel Railways is anticipating two peak travel days on the line: a football match tomorrow between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium, which is expected to draw large crowds via train, especially with the opening of the L3 light rail line connecting the central bus station to the sports complex. The second event is next week's election day, offering free train travel. Consequently, passengers may encounter inspectors at stations on these days who will request to see the voucher obtained after registering on the railway's website. Inspectors lack the authority to issue fines for not having a voucher but can delay or remove passengers from trains.

A joint team from the Ministry of Transport, the Fire and Rescue Services, and the police is currently formulating recommendations for equipment procurement and procedural changes to enhance firefighters' ability to manage fire risks on the train while it travels through the line's long tunnels and bridges. Professional sources within the fire services have raised concerns, stating that specialized fire trucks purchased for tunnel access failed in drills, that "Zibar" vehicles acquired for rapid first-response entry were ineffective, and that Israel Railways has not consistently provided standby trains for firefighter access and passenger evacuation to adjacent tunnels during emergencies, contrary to its commitments. They also noted that the original approval was for 600 passengers per train, and the doubling of train capacity to 10-12 carriages was not approved by them.

The primary concern for firefighters is not a terrorist attack but a fire outbreak, potentially caused by the ignition of batteries in electric scooters, which are permitted on the line. Professional sources also highlighted issues discovered during emergency drills concerning ambulance access to station platforms located 80 meters underground, despite the provision of access points.

Conversely, railway officials expressed surprise at the new demands, asserting that they have met all fire service requirements since the station's planning and construction began. "All of Europe operates trains in tunnels longer than those on the Jerusalem line. The railway has fulfilled all the fire department's requirements, and suddenly it's not enough," stated an insider. "In addition to reinforcements on the trains themselves, there are firefighting measures, exactly as we were required to establish." The issues regarding emergency preparedness on the line were previously raised in a 2020 State Comptroller's report and remain unresolved.

It has been learned that the joint team recently met with Inspector General Danny Levi, who urged them to expedite their work to ensure the line's safety and end the public's "harassment" with voucher issuance. The team may recommend the purchase of a special firefighting train for the line, where frequency is expected to increase from the current three trains per hour to thirteen, capable of transporting up to 20,000 people per hour. Implementation of any recommendations and approvals will take time, suggesting the voucher requirement is likely to persist for at least another year.