The problems on the red line of the light rail do not end: although there have been improvements in the stabilization of the train’s signaling system, its opening date has been postponed by 4 months to the end of March, but the estimates of the control company appointed by the Ministry of Transportation also include an additional date: June 2023. Direct cost: 40 million Shekel a month.
● The opening date is in doubt: the transport tender that never stops getting complicated
● 3 months to the launch of the light rail: the question marks are accumulating without me
● The red light rail line is delayed again: commercial operation will be postponed to mid-2023
The problems in the signaling system and its response to other systems, which were revealed in Globes, cause the train to suddenly stop. An example of this was felt by the senior officials of the Ministry of Transportation more than a month ago, when the train stopped at the climax of a test ride conducted for the Director General of the Ministry of Transportation and her senior officials. The signaling system is the “nervous system” of the train and is at the interfaces with the cars and their doors, with the stations and with many other systems, when the connection is not Fully functional, the signaling system reacts in the emergency braking, however, additional problems are related to the speed limit and various other restrictions on the functioning of the light rail.
The state chose a complex signaling system that includes an automatic system below the ground and a manual system above ground as a result of the operation of the RAK also between underground stations and between overhead stations, unlike what is customary in operating such trains. The choice of such a complex system is now, in retrospect, disputed. Another complicating fact is Operating the signaling system against systems operated by different contractors. The reason for this is that the tender for the light rail systems was rejected in 2017 after two bids were submitted, the lower of which cost the highest of NIS 2 billion from the NTA estimates, and then the tender was split into different tenders for each A separate system including signaling, integration and other systems. The European company Alstom is responsible for the signaling system, which project management officials were surprised by but expressed satisfaction with its involvement in solving the problems.
The Ministry of Transportation lost control over the postponement incident
While NTA is encouraged by the fact that the number of emergency brakes has decreased, at the beginning of next month updated versions of the system should be operating, after which its stability will be tested again and then the latest official date for the commercial operation of the train should be set. If the system stabilizes and NTA overcomes the other delays, the opening date It will be at the end of March 2023, but the control company assumed that it was June 2023. In any case, the Ministry of Transportation, which clearly lost control over the postponement event, is not convinced that the date according to the NTA, March, is possible for activation.
A senior official at the ministry said that “there was a malfunction in the signaling system that caused a delay in operation. The role of the steering committee is to ensure that the current timetables for the operation of the line are applicable, and a more certain picture of the situation has not yet been received from the NTA.” An exact date for the restart. Another possible, unofficial, reason is the upcoming elections and the fear of embarrassment for the Minister of Transportation, Rav Michaeli. Although the delays and malfunctions occurred following events that took place on the eve of her taking office, she entered the picture late and only after the appointment of Mia Likovernik to head the board.
Last March it was published in Globes that the estimates are that the line will be postponed until the middle of next year, against the background of the pace of tests and the milestones set for the implementation of the signaling system. The NTA subsequently issued a clarification notice in which it reiterated its commitment to operating the light rail in November “The NTA is distressed by trending and often false leaks from various parties, whose intent is to harm the national project – the light rail,” it said at the time.
However, even without regard to the signaling challenge and even earlier, the control company estimated in its reports that there would be a four-month delay in the opening of the light rail. The project is being delayed so that the operating company refused to accept it even before the analysis of the problems in the signaling system, the rate of recruitment of drivers is still insufficient, the lectures were not carried out on time and there is still work to be completed at the stations that have already received Form 4.
As part of the project, the government expressed disappointment with international companies and giants in the railways field who, after winning tenders, sent mid-level employees to Israel, this is in contrast to dealing with Israeli companies whose headquarters are here.
The cost of the delays: about NIS 160 million in the optimistic scenario
Other projects for which the NTA is responsible are also facing rejection – the green and purple lines whose dates have been updated to 2028 and 2027 respectively, a year late. These dates are also in doubt and the government is not convinced that the green line, which has significant delays in digging its underground section on Ibn Gvirol Street in Tel Aviv, will open before the year 2030. The purple line is also accumulating significant delays. In the meantime, public trust in the projects has been damaged as well as the ability to withstand works that cut through the cities. Although projects of this type are complex both from an engineering and contractual point of view and delays also apply to other projects in Israel and around the world But all these have extensive public and economic consequences.
Thus, the estimate that has been made so far and may still change, indicates a cost of 40 million shekels directly as a result of the delays on the red line of the light rail every month (about 160 million in the optimistic scenario in total). In addition to the direct cost, there is also a pocket cost, as estimates made in the past indicated a loss of product in the amount of one and a half billion shekels for each year of delay on the green and purple lines of the light rail in Gush Dan, which have already been rejected as mentioned, and it is estimated that the red line, for which demand is particularly high, will not be less than the other lines
The response of the Ministry of Transportation: “The NTA company manages the Red Line and is responsible for its construction and operation. The representatives of the state in the steering committee, the ministries of transportation and finance, accompany the company, and help in every way to complete the project, without compromises regarding the safety and operation of the service.
NTA’s response: “NTA does not engage in such and such assessments, and does not know the date in question, but invests all its resources in working around the clock, in order to operate the train as soon as possible without compromising on reliability and complete safety.”