Last update - 00:00 31/12/2006
Eight people lightly injured when train plows into bulldozer
By Sharon Kedmi, Haaretz Correspondent
Eight people were lightly injured Sunday when a Beit Shemesh-train struck a bulldozer that was crossing the rail tracks after the highway barrier had already started to descend.
The train, which originated in Jerusalem, was about two kilometers from the Beit Shemesh station when the collision took place.
Train traffic on the line has been suspended.
An Israel Railways spotter that was on location reported the incident.
However, the accident apparently could not have been prevented because of the close proximity between the bulldozer's crossing and the train's arrival.
Details of the accident are still under investigation.
Six months ago, five people were killed in an accident in Beit Shemesh.
Officials in the transportation ministry said Sunday morning that "the method of placing a lookout, which was used here first in the world, proves its irrelevance again and again." They maintain that "the solution is to separate the tracks [from highway traffic] completely and, first and foremost, to educate drivers."