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Fourteen airport rail links planned in Africa, including two more in South Africa

15th December 2016

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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There are more than 7 000 airports indexed at the International Air Transport Association (Iata), with 600 of those hand- ling more than one-million passengers a year.

Around 150 of these 600 airports have rail access directly to the terminals, with only 23 of the 150 featuring dedicated, purpose-built airport rail links. The Heathrow Express, in London, and the Gautrain, servicing OR Tambo International Airport, are two examples, says Global AirRail Alliance (Gara) director Milda Manomaityte.

Gara shares ideas and best practices on how to connect airports with passenger rail networks.

Airport rail links are growing in popularity, says Manomaityte, with about 200 global rail link projects to be implemented over the next 30 years.

“Fourteen of these planned projects are in Africa.”

AFRICAN AIR-RAIL LINKS
The $1-billion Abidjan Metro project is currently under construction in Côte d’Ivoire.

A French-Korean consortium signed a build-operate-transfer concession agreement for the Abidjan Metro Line 1 on the July 6, 2015, says Manomaityte.

The consortium comprises Hyundai Rotem (33%), Bouygues subsidiaries DTP Terrassement and Bouygues Travaux Publics (33%), Keolis (25%) and Dongsan Engineering (9%).

Hyundai Rotem will supply the rolling stock and signalling, Dongsan is doing the electrification work, DTP Terrassement and Bouygues Travaux Publics the engineering work and Keolis will operate the line.

The 37 km line will connect the northern and southern suburbs through the city centre, and serve Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport.

The first phase is due to be completed in 2019, with passenger services starting in 2020.

The Nairobi Commuter Rail project aims to rehabilitate 160 km of the existing railway system in Nairobi, Kenya, and to build 7 km of new track to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). The $350-million project also aims for the rehabilitation and construction of railway stations and the integration of a new signalling system, as well as the acquisition of new purpose-built rolling stock.

Phase 1 of the project has been completed following the construction of the Syokimau railway station and a 2 km line linking it to the old Embakasi railway line.

Kenya Railways Corporation has contracted InFraCo Group to build a new line connecting Embakasi to JKIA.

The project is to be implemented as a private–public partnership (PPP) between Kenya Railways, the government of Kenya and InFraCo Africa.

The Abuja Light Rail project, in Nigeria, carries a price tag of around $823-million.

The contract for the design and construction of lots one to three of the system was awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Cooperation Nigeria in May 2007.

The three phases include a line terminating at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. The official estimated opening date is 2017.

Manomaityte says the project is 70% complete, noting, however, that cable theft has become a significant challenge.

The Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) red line, in Nigeria, to be constructed from Agbado to Marina via Iddo and Murtala Muhammed International Airport, will cost around $2.4-billion.

While the federal Nigerian government has approved the construction of the project, funding appears to be problematic, says Manomaityte.

The LRMT blue line was opened in 2016, following “many postponements”.

A project to the north of this one, the Cairo Metro Line 3 project, in Egypt, hopes to link the airport to the city by 2022.

The $237-million Constantine Tramway extension project, in Algeria, saw Alstom and three consortium partners awarded the contract in 2015 to extend the Constantine area tramway by 10 km.

The extension will link the existing station of Zouaghi with the new city of Ali Mendjeli and with Mohamed Boudiaf Airport.

The estimated opening date is 2018.

Blaise Diagne International Airport is currently under construction in Senegal.

It will serve as a new airport for Dakar, as the old airport has become too small to accommodate the passenger influx.

Construction of a new electric regional express train is expected to begin in 2017. Serving 14 stations, the system will be able to move 115 000 passengers a day, carrying them to the new airport in less than 45 minutes.

MORE GAUTRAINS?
Airports Company South Africa projects group manager Kesavan Naicker believes an airport needs some form of public transport feed-in at around five-million passengers a year.

At 20-million passengers a year, road-based public transport is no longer sustainable as the road network surrounding the airport becomes too congested.

OR Tambo International currently handles between 20-million and 23-million passengers a year, says Naicker.

King Shaka International Airport (KSIA), in Durban, carries five-million passengers a year. Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) moves around 9.5-million passengers a year.

According to Naicker’s figures this means that neither KSIA or CTIA should qualify for a dedicated rail service. However, talk of building such services keeps surfacing.

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) strategic network planning GM Hishaam Emeran says planning for a Cape Town rail service can be traced back to 1997.

PRASA has even completed a feasibility study on the project.

Two alignments were put forward as possible solutions. Option 1 links to the existing Metrorail network. This 4.5 km link would carry a capital cost of roughly R1.2-billion, with additional network upgrades of R700-million required.

Ticket prices could be around R75 one way, at 2010 prices.

Option 2 is building a dedicated line from the airport to the city. This option would require capi- tal costs of around R1.6-billion, with ticket prices at around R100 one way.

The project’s current standing is that PRASA and the City of Cape Town are “jointly exploring implementation strategies”, says Emeran.

Timing and funding models will influence the decision to either select building an integrated Metrorail line or a dedicated airport line.

Transport for Cape Town partnership management specialist Sanele Nyoka highlights that the project is nowhere near receiving a green light.

It appears there is a lack of a shared vision and ownership of the project between the City of Cape Town and PRASA, despite the city emphasising that all its public transport plans require a rail network.

“One of the things that has become apparent is that we do not all agree in our thinking about the project,” says Nyoka.

So, what will it take to unlock a Cape Town airport link?

Emeran says all parties agree that Cape Town needs an airport rail link to be considered a world-class city.

He believes that “more of a shared vision” has started to emerge between PRASA and city management over the last two years.

Funding is, however, the big challenge, he notes, as the State-owned PRASA currently has to finance a “huge backlog” in terms of existing infrastructure and rolling stock.

It is possible for PRASA to perhaps unlock private-sector funding for airport links, confirms Emeran.

For now, however, the CTIA rail link remains at the planning phase, only to become real when there is a funding and implementation model on the table, he notes.

But why does the City of Cape Town need Metrorail to build the project? Why not build it in using a PPP model, as the Gauteng government did with the Gautrain, with no involvement from PRASA?

Emeran says that PRASA “wants to be involved, needs to be involved” in the CTIA rail link project in order to avoid a duplication of passenger rail services in South Africa.

His answer echoes a statement Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Dr Ismail Vadi made earlier this year when he discussed the possible expansion of the Gautrain rail network.

Vadi questioned whether it was sustainable to run two rail commuter systems, namely the Gautrain, a provincial entity, and Metrorail, a national entity, side by side in Gauteng.

“We have two systems running quite sepa- rately. We have the Gautrain running on its track and Metrorail running on its track and the only connection is where we have an intermodal facility,” said Vadi.

“One is a modern system and one is an ageing system. How can we integrate them? What is our position? Can we imagine a single rail entity taking responsibility for rail operations in our province? It is no longer sustainable to have two separate systems operating side by side with different management structures, different operations and different passenger information support systems. We have to look at the first steps towards integration.”

Does Vadi’s words raise the possibility that the national government is pushing for an embattled PRASA – currently caught up in a number of legal battles – to be the custodian of all future and existing commuter rail networks in South Africa? Only time will tell.

A DURBAN AIRPORT LINK?
Plans for a rail link to KSIA include using the existing Metrorail network. However, this will lead to “a less than convenient travel time”, says Emeran.

PRASA investigated the construction of a rail link to KSIA in 2013.

Three scenarios were put on the table.

Scenario 1 mulled improving the North Coast Metrorail line, Scenario 2, building a new Metrorail or light rail link, and Scenario 3 investigating a higher-speed rail link between KSIA, Umhlanga and Durban.

Scenario 3 was considered the most attractive one, with a 20 minute to 25 minute travel time, at an infrastructure cost of around R15-billion.

This was, however, only a high-level study, notes Emeran. The next step is a detailed feasibility study.

He also warns that demand for a dedicated KSIA rail link still appears weak.

The short-term solution to a lack of public transport at KSIA is a dedicated bus service, says Emeran.

CTIA is currently serviced by the MyCiti bus network, which is reported to carry around 500 airport passengers a day.

Heathrow Airport, in London, is serviced by the Heathrow Express rail service.

This UK airport handles 47-million passengers a year.

Heathrow Express director Fraser Brown says the service offers a link to London every 15 minutes.

Having taken the Gautrain on his visit to South Africa, he says he experienced the service as overwhelmingly positive.

He says the Gautrain is “really simple to use”; way-finding from the airport is easy; the absence of a gap between the train and the platform ensures ease-of-use for the disabled; it is safe and clean and every station has bathrooms.

“As a foreigner visiting South Africa for the first time, it was clear what to do and where to go,” says Brown.

He was disappointed, however, not to be targeted by Gautrain marketing the moment he stepped of the plane, or even while on the plane.

“More can be done to target the arriving passenger. I was only made aware of the Gautrain once I reached customs.”

Brown also believes that on-board screens, either for ads or entertainment, could add to the Gautrain experience and/or revenue stream.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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