Trains Back on Tracks Monday

Despite unease over the danger of spreading the coronavirus, the decision has been made to allow Israel’s trains to resume service on Monday.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein agreed to allow trains to resume operations which were curtailed three months ago. Railway service was originally scheduled to pick up again on May 17, but it was pushed back to June 1 and then to June 8.

“The public expects the return of trains, which will alleviate pressure from the bus systems and allow easy public transport access to Israeli citizens,” said Regev. “We will follow the developments and make sure the public abides by the health rules, maintaining social distancing, wearing masks and preventing the entry of passengers with fever inside train stations.”

Meanwhile, the state Employment Service said on Thursday that the latest data shows there will be no shortage of commuters to fill the railway cars on Monday.

Over the past week (from May 31) the number of people returning to work was nearly ten times the number of people registering as seeking work – 56,937 versus 6,102.