Associates of the Ministry of Transportation and the NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit Method Ltd. have satisfied to discuss the auditing firm’s report that the opening of the Crimson Line of the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Location light-weight rail will be delayed by a number of months.

NTA experienced to begin with dedicated to the launch of professional operations in October 2021. But shortly following Haim Glik was appointed NTA CEO, the opening day was postponed until finally November 2022. But the corporation that audits enhancement perform on the Pink Line warns of a hold off of several months, amongst other matters due to the fact of ending get the job done at the stations and the want to totally take a look at the signaling system.

The earlier report of the auditors of building on the Purple Line, which was published last yr, spoke about a four months hold off but NTA thought that it would be capable to satisfy deadlines. Resources familiar with the undertaking consider that professional functions on the Red Line will never start off until eventually the next or third quarter of 2023. The auditing enterprise declines to go over dates but agrees that the line won’t begin running in November 2022.

The auditors are presently tests the signaling program, which is a person of the vital factors figuring out when the gentle rail can commence functioning. Delays in the signaling procedure would be even more difficult to decrease than delays in the ending operate at the underground stations, as the line can be operated even if some of the stations are not concluded. An NTA resource promises that there was no reference to the signaling program in the report, but in accordance to those people who are acquainted with the venture, it does not meet up with the milestones set in the subject.

20 many years of delays

NTA was established up in 1996 and just after a feasibility study, setting up and budgetary conversations, it was announced that the Red Line would have a funds of NIS 10 billion and open in 2012 as section of a non-public-community partnership. But right after the financing tender was canceled, the government determined to finance the gentle rail alone. In August 2015 the Ma’ariv bridge in Tel Aviv was demolished and the then Minister of Transport Israel Katz announced October 2021 as the opening date. The price range for the line, which runs from Bat Yam, Yafo, Allenby Road, Azrieli Towers, Tel Aviv Savidor Station and onto Ramat Gan and the Petah Tikva Central Bus Station, was believed at NIS 16 billion.

Following a dispute amid senior management in 2019, which led to the resignation of then CEO Yehuda Bar On, and then the Covid pandemic, new CEO Haim Glik postponed the opening to November 2022. The spending budget was revised upwards to NIS 18 billion.

There are also already delays on the Eco-friendly Line and Purple Line, which had been because of to start off running in 2026, but perform is only now getting underway, soon after tender winners ended up not long ago declared.




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The Ministry of Transport reported, “The Ministry of Transportation is functioning with NTA and other bodies to progress with the opening of the line on time.”

NTA claimed, “NTA is transferring forward on the commercial opening of the Purple Line according to the get the job done prepare, in the direction of November 2022 as planned, and trial operates are remaining done. The knowledge from the aforementioned auditing firm signifies only a confined quantity of what is staying completed and does not replicate the total progress of perform on the line as introduced on Monday to the Ministry of Transportation.”

Printed by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on March 21, 2022.

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