Jerusalem Light Rail Line Resumes Service After Power Cable Disruption
A torn power cable temporarily halted Jerusalem's Red Line light rail service on Monday morning. Meanwhile, heavy rail traffic between Tel Aviv and Lod faced disruptions due to a suspicious object near the tracks.
A torn power cable in the Neve Yaakov area caused a three-hour suspension of Line L1 (the Red Line) of the Jerusalem Light Rail on Monday morning. The fault has since been repaired, and regular service has fully resumed.
Official Response and Recurring Failures
During the disruption, the Ministry of Transport, the Jerusalem Municipality, and Jerusalem Transportation worked alongside the operating company, Kfir, to restore services. Alternative bus routes were deployed for passengers. The Ministry of Transport stated that it made clear to Kfir that the situation was unacceptable and fell short of expected service standards.
Line L1 connects Pisgat Ze'ev in the north to Mount Herzl in the southwest, passing through the city center. This morning's incident adds to a series of disruptions affecting the light rail system over the past year and a half, including infrastructure failures, traffic light malfunctions, and vehicle collisions near the tracks. Consequently, the Ministry of Transport has initiated hearings regarding Kfir's operation concession.
Public Transportation Developments and Heavy Rail Disruption
Meanwhile, the expansion of Jerusalem's light rail network continues, with the Green Line (Line L3) opening its first section last August, while the Blue Line is slated for completion in the next decade.
In a separate transit incident this morning, heavy rail traffic between Tel Aviv HaHagana and Lod stations was temporarily halted following police instructions due to a suspicious object found near the tracks in the Ganot area, causing delays for passengers traveling toward the south and the Shfela region.
