Name of the Project
Gautrain additional rolling stock procurement programme.

Location
Gauteng, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Gautrain Management Agency (GMA), an agency of the Gauteng provincial government and Bombela Concession Company (BCC).

The GMA manages the Gautrain system on behalf of its owner, the Gauteng provincial government, and Bombela operates it on behalf of the GMA.

Project Description
The GMA is investigating the procurement of pre-owned rolling stock from the UK to address peak-hour congestion on the Gautrain system and is doing this through its concession agreement with Bombela.

This follows a tender process to secure 12 new four-car train sets for the Gautrain system having failed to deliver the desired results at the end of 2018, when none of the three short-listed bidders submitting a compliant bid. GMA is considering adding trains to the Gautrain system that are about the same age as the current rolling stock fleet and upgrading the depot and signalling systems.

The GMA will aim to obtain seven 4- or 5-car train sets. These will operate largely on the Gautrain’s airport line, with the airport line’s rolling stock to be used on the congested north–south line. The rolling stock may be leased or bought.

Potential Job Creation
The GMA and BCC intend to refurbish and kit out the trains using local labour and material.

Capital Expenditure
The estimated cost is about R2-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
The GMA hopes to have the trains operational by 2022.

Latest Developments
The GMA and Bombela concessionaire have cancelled two tenders pertaining to the procurement of about five pre-owned trains from the UK, GMA CEO William Dachs said on February 4. The tenders were first issued in 2019.

The first of the rolling stock tenders involved the procurement of the trains, while the other was focused on the local refurbishment of the trains once they arrived.

The trains were required to reduce congestion on the Gautrain system until the end of the current concession period in 2026, Dachs said.

He noted that the GMA and Bombela had been forced, at the time, to look to the UK for second-hand trains, as it proved uneconomical to produce the low volume of rolling stock required locally. 

Also, UK rail operators had a number of trains available as they were refleeting.

“Covid-19 has, however, knocked a really big hole in this plan of ours,” Dachs has said.

“We only anticipate to get back to pre-Covid numbers in the next two to three years. 

“We are currently at around 20% ridership, compared with pre-Covid levels. We were 30% before Christmas, but then the second wave arrived and ridership went back down again. In that context it just doesn’t make sense to do this quite complex procurement process.

“We now see a longer path ahead for reaching capacity on the Gautrain system, so we decided to put the programme on hold. We now plan to combine it with the 2026 reinvestment in the system.

“Our aim is to have a new private operator in place well before this date and then we would be looking at this new party to take responsibility for the refurbishment of the current fleet, as well as procuring new rolling stock.”

“Postponing the tender also provides the GMA the opportunity to ensure that it is able to procure locally produced rolling stock, Dachs says.

He says the proposed expansion of the Gautrain system is still on the table, as that is a long-term project with a 30-year horizon.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
GMA senior executive manager communication and marketing Dr Barbara Jensen, email barbaraj@gautrain.co.za.