The first train from Pe'atay Modiin will leave at 21:22 on 1/9/07 on this coming Saturday, Motzei Shabbat. This is the first phase of the train development in Modiin. The train to Modiin central will begin running in early 2008. The train will take 20 minutes to reach Tel Aviv including stopping at  Ben Gurion Airport. The line will begin each morning at 05:30 and end at 23:15. During the day the train will come to Modiin 58 times. A ticket will cost 12.5 shekels, you can buy a monthly ticket for 325 shekels or a joint monthly ticket which would include Connex for 365 shekels. This information and new schedules can be found at: http://www.israrail.org.il/index.html  the Israeli railway website.

I hope that the railway service will be good. Connex's bus service in Modiin has not only not improved, but seems to get worse every day. Not a day goes by that I do not hear and read of new horror stories about their abominable bus service.
Shame to all those useless people who were responsible in bringing Connex to Modiin and that are now passing their responsibilities on to other people. Their should be a public inquiry about how this bus company was chosen and allowed to cause so much havoc and chaos to Modiin. Those found responsible should be ordered to leave their posts immediately and possibly be brought to the courts and hopefully will be ordered  to pay compensation for the terrible  inconvenience that they have caused to the citizens of Modiin.

The train service to Modiin will really boost the Modiin real estate market, and I believe that this will be the catalyst for even higher prices to properties in this city.

Let's hope to great service from Modiin's new trains  and that in a few days I will be able to write positive experiences from this long awaited service.

Michael Bloom