Israel Railways: profit in the second quarter of 2021 was NIS 2.6 million compared with a loss of NIS 4 million

Israel Railways published its financial data for the second quarter of 2021. The Railway report shows a positive trend of the government company, even if the changes are not very large: the company's total profit in the second quarter of 2021 was NIS 2.6 million, compared with a total loss of about NIS 4 million in the second quarter of 2020.
The data for the quarter are significantly better than those for the corresponding quarter in 2020, which included the peak of the corona crisis and the first closure, which significantly reduced train passenger traffic.
Gross profit in the first quarter of 2021 was NIS 42.2 million, a small difference compared to NIS 42.5 million in the corresponding quarter last year. The main explanation for the growth in revenue and expenditure is the increase in the number of passengers in 2021, compared to the second "lost" quarter of 2020.
After all fixed expenses, operating profit increased by 47% to NIS 2.5 million.
In terms of passenger transportation data, in the second quarter of 2021 there were 8.7 million trips that generated revenues of NIS 79 million, compared to only 300,000 trips in the corresponding quarter in 2020 that generated revenues of NIS 5 million. This is a 15.8-fold jump in passenger revenue.
The change in the number of passengers also led to changes in the operating fee revenues that the state flows into the company, which climbed 16% to NIS 526 million.
The railway also showed a significant improvement in the accuracy of the trains, with the average accuracy in the first half of 2021 standing at 97.18% - compared to 93.3% in the corresponding period last year. According to the railway, the improvement in the accuracy figure is attributed to a focus on operational readiness, improved maintenance capacity of the trains, railway infrastructure and control and monitoring systems, placing bookshelves in strategic locations in the railway network and "managerial attention".
In the cargo sector, in the first half of 2021, Israel Railways transported about 3.7 million tons, compared to 3.9 million tons in the first half of 2020. Cargo transportation revenue was NIS 142 million, compared to NIS 152 million in the corresponding period last year.
Losses in the cargo sector in the first half of 2021 amounted to NIS 40 million, compared with a loss of NIS 20.6 million in the corresponding period last year.
According to the train, the loss is attributed, among other things, to initiated traffic stops for infrastructure and development work - mainly for the conversion of the rail network to electric propulsion - as well as to traffic stops and changes in travel lines caused by Operation Wall Guard.
Also, rail argues that rail transport is more expensive compared to trucks, and therefore requires a government subsidy that reflects the national interest in reducing road congestion, pollution and road accidents. Because of this, transportation is currently done at costs that do not reflect transportation costs.