All aboard the new south-bound train

After a year of arguing the finance and transportation ministries reached an agreement on building the new railroad line between Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva, at a cost of NIS 1.9 billion. The two ministries reached a compromise and the new line will built with a single track - for now.

The infrastructure for the northern part of the rail line between Ashkelon and Netivot will be prepared for two tracks now, but only a single track will be built for now; while the Netivot-Be'er Sheva portion will be built with an infrastructure for only a single line, with a number of specific sections readied for a doubling of the track in the future.

The train will run from Ashkelon through Sderot, Netivot and Ofakim to Be'er Sheva.

The agreement was signed on Thursday in the office of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz by Israel Railways CEO Yitzhak Harel, Transportation Ministry Director General Yaakov Ganot and the coordinator of the transportation portfolio in the treasury's budgets division, Udi Adiri.

The first tenders for the project are expected within two months. The cabinet approved the route in December 2008, but Israel Railways and the Finance Ministry disagreed on whether the route would have a single or double track. The railways claimed it was illogical to lay a single track, which would restrict future service to the south, and in particular to the huge new army bases being built in the area. The treasury said a double-track line was a waste of money.

Israel Railways' original proposal would have cost NIS 2.1 billion, while the Finance Ministry's plan was for NIS 1.68 billion. Katz ordered the laying of a double track in May of this year, but the treasury refused and delayed the work until now.