Israel Expands Train Service

"During a trip from Tel Aviv to Rehovot last week on one of the most successful rail lines that has been in operation for over a decade, all the benefits of traveling on Israel Railways were apparent. The announcement politely says, "Have a nice trip and a pleasant day," the cars are clean and the seats roomy and the other passengers seem calm: They chat or read a newspaper or work on a laptop computer or gaze out the window. The scenery is especially impressive when the train zips by traffic-filled highways at the entrance to Tel Aviv. Thousands of cars are crawling along there in bumper-to-bumper traffic and sitting in each of them there is just one person. Members of environmental organizations constantly decry the waste, pollution and folly of traveling in a private car."