(haipo) – The hearing in the Haifa District Court regarding the railway subsidence has begun. The Haifa Municipality has filed a lawsuit with the District Court to order the state to fulfill its obligation to subside the railway track, as part of the preconditions for electrification of the track.
"We are entering a long struggle and we will win it" • Watch
Mayor Yona Yahav:
"Just as it would be unthinkable to block access to the Western Wall, it is impossible for electrification to block access to the beaches in Haifa."
"The state must fulfill its obligations"
During the discussion, the municipality presented the planning procedures, agreements, and commitments given to it since the National Infrastructure Plan (Tatol 18) was approved to regulate the electrification project for railway tracks throughout the country. Among the commitments: a mediation agreement signed in 2012 following a petition by the municipality, in which Israel Railways committed to financing the track subsidence in the Park section, at a cost of NIS 500 million. In 2015, it was decided to promote the track subsidence in the lower city area in the first phase of the urban waterfront project, with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport committing to financing in the amount of NIS 1.3 billion.
"There is one solution to the problem, all the rest are a waste of time" • Shmulik Gelbhart has been following the issue since its inception • Watch
'A rough buffer between the city and its shores'
In the petition, the municipality states: "The existing railway route constitutes a crude and artificial barrier between the city of Haifa and the seashores lying at its foot. Electrifying the railway tracks above ground will not only worsen the barrier, but will severely damage all aspects of the economy, the environment, transportation and urban fabric of the city. The project will create a significant obstacle to the development of Haifa and the city's future as a leading maritime urban center."
The mayor explodes
During the discussion, the railway representatives claimed that the municipality was violating the agreements reached, and that the photos presented by the municipality's legal advisor, Yamit Klein, were misleading. In response, the mayor broke down and clarified that the photos reflect the expected final appearance if no tunneling is carried out.
Judge Hananel Sharabi addressed the railway representatives and wondered whether it was not a waste of resources to invest in electrification, when a plan for tunneling already exists, agreements have been signed, and the municipality has even fought against electrification in the past.
"There are other alternatives that should be preferred" – Attorney Dvir Langer • Watch
To issue a writ of execution
In light of all this, the municipality is asking the court to issue an injunction ordering Israel Railways to sink the railway tracks in the sections of the lower city and Hecht Park, as an integral part of the first phase of the electrification project in the city of Haifa, as well as an injunction prohibiting the performance of overhead electrification work in the sections designated for sinking.
Court recommendation
At the conclusion of the hearing, the municipality claimed that the court rejected the claims of Israel Railways and the state regarding the lack of authority to hear the lawsuit filed by the municipality to sink the railway route along the sea and electrify the railway overhead.
The court ruled that the claims of both parties would be examined based on the existing agreements and their interpretation, and recommended that the parties resort to mediation.
In the event of a tsunami, the subsidence of the train will cause greater casualties than without subsidence and the possibility of escaping to higher ground.
A judge makes life easy - he bides his time and sends for mediation when there are closed and signed agreements. All that remains is a "decision" to fulfill the clauses of the agreements.
What kind of mediation could there be in this case?
Summarized succinctly
Mayor Yona Yahav:
"Just as it would be unthinkable to block access to the Western Wall, it is impossible for electrification to block access to the beaches in Haifa."
The mayor treats the water line blockage as if it were blocking access to the Western Wall.
This is the same mayor who, in the same week, approved a mini-hotel for his friend Dankner, Beit Dagon: 50 meters wide and 30 meters high, opposite Bat Galim.
Did you understand?
If the Haifa-Harpa Municipality had not opposed the railway tunnel from the Carmel Coast to the Check Post because of the Ahithophel consultants and the failed city miracle, then today we would already have railway tunneling work like the one that created the Carmel Tunnels, and by 2030 we would have a coastal strip without trains and a high-speed train 250 kilometers from a station near the exit at Wadi HaGiborim that brings us to Tel Aviv in 30 minutes.
Look how damaging a bad mayor, a failed city engineer + bad transportation consultants can be!!
And they would turn the train station building into a mall or something similar (commerce and entertainment) instead of an entrance-only-for-passengers (and not for visitors who were forced to cross through it... but at least not inside a gray side box of concrete and dirt and graffiti - like what's there right now)
Not exactly the whole story – there's more..
You have more... and they would turn the train station building into a mall or something similar (commerce and entertainment) instead of an entrance-only-for-passengers (and not for visitors who were forced to cross it because it's in the middle... but at least not inside a gray side box of concrete and dirt and graffiti - like there is right now for those passing through it)
Lol
Subsidence of the railway line endangers the public traveling on the train during a tsunami event.
Before such an event, it is expected that there will be many evacuees by many trains (damage to infrastructure is insured – and there will be advance warning)
The Likud never conquered Haifa. The Haifa public must physically block the personal and political intentions of a transportation minister who does not come to Haifa. An ugly blockade of the city to the sea – a death blow to the city.
Waste of money.
There are contractors in Israel and abroad who are licking their lips.
Leave it, it won't happen and the mayor knows there's no chance of it happening, but what does he care about showing that he's fighting to make it happen?