Reparations goods to be obtained from Germany will help Israel modernize its railroads, Haim Razily, director-general of the Communications Ministry, said today.
Mr. Razily revealed that a five-year modernization plan calls for linking Jerusalem and Tel Aviv by modern, comfortable coach service on 105-minute schedules; Haifa and Jerusalem on a three-hour schedule; and Tel Aviv and Haifa on a 75-minute run. The plan, which will adopt many proposals made by foreign railway experts, calls for replacement of present rolling stock by diesel and electric cars.
The government official declared that one of the purposes of the modernization program was to break the “strangle hold” of the bus cooperatives on passenger traffic among the major cities. He said that he believed that competition from the national railroads would force the cooperatives to improve their service.
Mr. Razily estimated that implementation of the modernization program would eventually save the country $800,000 and 500,000 Israeli pounds.
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