Wheelchair Passengers Get Free Ride

YERUSHALAYIM

People who use wheelchairs to get around have won a class action suit which will entitle them to ride the train for free from now until November 2, 2016, Haaretz reported on Wednesday.

The suit, filed in December 2007, was based on a complaint that Israel Railways was failing to comply with Israel’s Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law. Management was found to be at fault for not coordinating the travel of people who use wheelchairs, and for not allowing wheelchair users to get off at their destination, despite prior coordination and approval.

Passengers will have to use a special Rav-Kav card and show documentation from the National Insurance Institute or the Defense Ministry in order to take advantage of the court ruling.

In an unrelated item involving rail travel, Globes said that a new safety system using thermal sensors is being developed to detect objects on the tracks for warning the driver in time to stop before a collision occurs.

Through 2015, Israel Railways has seen 12 incidents in which trains hit trespassers (vehicles and pedestrians) on the tracks. While the human eye can see only up to 600 feet, the sensors can detect objects as far away as  9,000 feet.

Rail Safe, founded by former employees at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Elbit Systems, began developing the system 18 months ago, in cooperation with Israel Railways.

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