According to a report of the State Comptroller of Israel, sources in the Ministries of Transport and Finance are estimating that electrification of the high-speed Tel Aviv-Jerusalem line will not be completed before the end of 2018, despite the official announcement that the line will begin operating in April next year. The State Comptroller report also warned about the risks caused by pressure on Israel Railways to hurry to finish the project on time, stating that this was “liable to lead to shortcuts that will affect the project’s quality and the passengers’ safety and increase its overall cost, due to the need to repair faults.”
The report also sanctioned the employment of foreign consultants in the electrification project deemed unnecessary and costly. Other losses were caused by innumerable delays, and an absence of overall planning, and even of an economic feasibility study. There were also many faults in the tender to purchase electrical railway carriages.
The State Comptroller also found that the new electrified Akko-Karmiel line, scheduled for March 2016, would be delayed by five entire years to December 2021. Completing the conversion of 420 kilometers of other railway tracks around Israel, originally slated for completion in 2019, will be finished only in 2021.
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