dinsdag 11 mei 2010

Transportminister Israel droomt van treinverbindingen tussen Israel, Westoever en Jordanië


In Israel rijden relatief weinig treinen, en de meeste verplaatsingen van de ene stad naar de andere gaan per bus, door drukke steden en over verstopte wegen waarop je moet wachten in lelijke benauwde garages op de tweede verdieping van een shopping mall. Voordat Israel met ambitieuze plannen komt om Jenin en andere Palestijnse steden op het spoorwegnet aan te sluiten kan men wellicht beter het eigen spoorwegnet wat uitbreiden en de informatievoorziening op stations verbeteren. Onderstaande plannen zullen ongetwijfeld streng worden veroordeeld door de EU, de VN en de VS, omdat Israel volgens hen niks mag doen over de groene lijn, ook niet als het de Palestijnen ten goede komt. Waarom je handen branden aan iets dergelijks, als er in eigen land nog genoeg te verbeteren valt?
 
RP
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The Jerusalem Post
From Jenin to Jerusalem: Ministry plans West Bank train line
By TOVAH LAZAROFF
05/05/2010 05:07
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=174723

 
Easier transport of consumer goods and passengers could "advance the peace process."

Jenin could one day be only a train ride away from Jerusalem or Jordan, according to Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz.

His ministry has drafted a plan for a train that would link West Bank Palestinian and Jewish communities with the existing railway system that runs from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and from Nahariya to Ashkelon.

Katz spoke of the plan as he toured Samaria on Tuesday.

He said that when the Emek rail line is revived, which would link Haifa with Afula, Beit She'an and then on to Jordan, an additional line could be developed with a connection to Jenin as well as to nearby West Bank settlements.

In the 1930s, there was a line that went from Haifa to Jenin and Nablus.

Katz also said he envisioned a line that would go from Jenin to Jerusalem.

"We are planning, together with the international community, to connect Jenin to the Emek line and to Jerusalem," he said.

Easier transport of consumer goods and passengers would "advance the peace process," Katz said. "We want to extend our hand in peace. There is room for dialogue."

Plans have been drafted for such a rail line, but the approval process had not begun and a cost estimate had yet to be prepared, the minister's spokesman said.

He added that it was easier to devise a security plan for a train than for other modes of transportation.

Hagit Ofran of Peace Now said she had not heard for such a plan, but that the state had referenced a possible rail line between Ramallah and Jerusalem in a court document.

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