Israel Railways plans cargo capacity expansion

Tel Aviv — Israel Railways is planning to invest $35 million in expanding its cargo capacity. The state-owned company said it had received approval from the Israeli Finance and Transport Ministries for the plan, which is aimed at increasing its cargo capacity to 300 rail cars a day. Israel Railways said the objective is to double cargo capacity within five years – from 7 million mt a year to 13.5 million mt – and to triple its market share in the cargo field, from 8 percent to 25 percent by the end of the decade. Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) is the largest customer of Israel Railways, and the increased capacity will enable ICL to increase its use of rail to ship to Ashdod port.