Israel Railways reports 12% increase in passengers
Profits rise by 6% as 20 million people travel by train in first half of 2012
Some 20 million people used Israel’s train network during the first half of 2012, a 12 percent increase on the same period in 2011. However, the railway’s profit increased by only 6 percent, since many of the new users were students and soldiers.
The revenue of Israel Railways reached NIS 281 million in the first half of 2012, an increase of NIS 17 million over the previous year’s intake, Maariv reported on Sunday.
The main reason for the gap between the number of new passengers and the profit netted by the company was the high number of soldiers and students using the train.
Soldiers don’t pay for their journey (which is covered by the Defense Ministry), and students pay half price.
An improved route from Tel Aviv to Beersheba had the greatest increase of traffic. That route served 19.5 million passengers in the first half of 2012, up from 17.4 million in the same period of 2011.