'We'll never stop train traffic'
Transportation Minister Sheetrit dismisses calls to stop train traffic in wake of latest train wreck
TEL AVIV – Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit has rejected comments by a senior police official who said train traffic in the south should be stopped in the wake of the latest terror attack.
In an interview with Ynet, Sheetrit said Uri Bar-Lev's comments were "an unnecessary remark."
"There's no need to respond with hysteria and panic," Sheetrit said. "We won't stop train traffic, not today and never. The train didn't do anything wrong."
Still, the minister predicts that more train accidents are in store.
"This is not the first accident and unfortunately not the last one either," he said. "People must realize the train cannot stop and they should act responsibly."
Meanwhile, Sheetrit ordered agricultural roads that lead to train tracks be blocked, until barriers are set up there.
"For now, we won't open agricultural roads that lack barriers," he said. "The train must get top priority in traffic. This is how it is all over the world."
Earlier, Commissioner Uri Bar-Lev, the southern district police commander, sent Saturday a sharp letter to the general manager of Israel Railways, Yossi Mor, following the crash between a train and truck near Kiryat Gat.
Bar-Lev wrote to the Israel Railways management that, if he could, he would shut down all rail traffic in the south until train safety was increased. He argued that there is a dire need for lookouts and other methods of warning drivers about oncoming trains as well as slowing them down.
He also sent a letter to the government authority charged with placing road signs.
The police do not have the power to close down lines.
Bar-Lev also asked that crossing lights and guards be placed at intersections between rail and road, and that a car be sent ahead of the train to make sure that the track is clear.
"I hold Israel railways responsible for solving the serious situation of train accidents, and I demand the immediate involvement of the management of finding a solution," Bar-Lev wrote.
Israel Railways responds
On Friday, Israel Railways announced that, starting Sunday, its security department will conduct joint patrols of the intersections with the police. However, the police do not see this as a solution.
Bar-Lev said that the train situation was a "ticking bomb," which could result in another accident.
The Kiryat Gat truck driver in Friday's crash had four traffic violations, three of them for not driving with a seat belt and one for hauling too much weight.
In his police interrogation, the driver stuck to his story that the truck's wheel got stuck on the track and notified his boss about it.
The accident occurred Friday afternoon near Moshav Ahuzam, south of Kiryat Gat. The train engineer was badly injured and 70 others had to be evacuated by ambulance.
Fallout from letter
Responding to Bar-Lev's criticisms, an Israel Railways source said, "The railroad's general manager has not yet received Bar-Lev's letter, but when it happens, we'll respond."
In addition, source said that Israel Railway's only evaluation of traffic safety needs was done with the police's traffic department.
-Diana Bahur-Nir contributed to this report
