The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Fayez Rasamny, stated that there is a vision to reactivate the railway line that connects Beirut to Jounieh, but he clarified that “the sea road currently used by cars is considered railway property, and closing it is impossible due to the traffic congestion it may cause,” while considering at the same time that “there is currently no economic feasibility in operating the train in Lebanon.”
In a television interview on “lbci” channel, the minister explained that the “airport taxi” fare has become approved and unified, and citizens can view it through the ministry’s applications. On another level, he stated that among the ministry’s top priorities in the field of traffic safety is developing plans to light the roads.
Rasamny also revealed a significant increase in the rate of traffic accidents, where pedestrians constitute 70% of the victims of these accidents, while motorcycles represent 30%, and he pointed out that the absence of lighting contributes to increasing the number of accidents.
Regarding the financial matter, he stated that he requested a budget of $800 million from the Council of Ministers, then submitted another request to the Parliament to obtain $1.2 billion, but the allocations that the ministry received did not exceed $200 million for all of Lebanon.
In addition, Rasamny pointed out the existence of approximately 12,000 forged vehicle registration plates, including large buses and small trucks, and stressed the importance of organizing this sector and incorporating it within the legal framework, in order to accommodate and operate it legally.
