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New Rolling Stock Procurement Programme, South Africa

5th December 2014

  

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Name and Location
New Rolling Stock Procurement Programme, nationwide, South Africa.

Client
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

Project Description
The Department of Transport, through PRASA, is to invest in a new rail rolling stock fleet-renewal programme across South Africa.

The programme will upgrade and expand the current rail infrastructure by introducing new stock for commuter rail service Metrorail and by offering more routes between destinations in South Africa.

The aim is to replace the old fleet, which has reached the end of its design life.

As part of the procurement programme, PRASA aims to upgrade and construct fully functional modern maintenance depots at Braamfontein, Wolmerton, Salt River, Durban Yard and Springfield, which will support and service PRASA’s new metro trains by the time the first new train sets are delivered in the first quarter of 2015. The new depots will meet maintenance demand of the new, increased fleet and PRASA’s existing metro trains, until 2034.

The modernisation will mainly consist of the refurbishment or upgrade of selected existing buildings, the construction of additional operational buildings and the reconstruction of the staging yards. The initial phase of the works will include the demolition of selected existing buildings in preparation for the upgrade.

The upgrade will result in the introduction of the following technologies at the depots to optimise operational efficiencies:
• a new in-floor lifting system (synchronised retractable train-lifting jacks);
• a new universal lifting system, which allows for the synchronised lifting of different types of trains;
• an underfloor wheel lathe, which enables wheel-set profiling on site; and
• yard signalling, to allow for the efficient control of train movements within the yards.

Value
R123-billion.

An extra R14.5-billion will be invested in signalling, new depots, modern stations and integrated ticketing.

Duration
The 20-year procurement process will comprise two periods – the first ten-year contract will run from 2015 and the second from 2025.

The first new trains are expected for delivery in 2015.

Latest Developments
As part of PRASA's initiative towards modernising its fleet and delivering “high-quality, safe and reliable” passenger services, a “significant number” of new locomotives will arrive within the first half of next year, with 15 to be delivered by March 2015.

An influx of new long-haul passenger locomotives will enter service in South Africa during the next three years after PRASA unveiled Africa’s first 4000-series diesel locomotive at Cape Town Station on December 1.

The new high-powered locomotive – the first of 70 – marks a “turning point” for the State-owned entity as it hopes to reintroduce services along several corridors that have been mothballed on the back of ageing infrastructure and rolling stock.

The first AFRO 4000 locomotive, manufactured by Spain-based Vossloh, will undergo three months of testing before starting operations in March next year.

Another set of locomotives will make their debut in January, signaling further momentum in PRASA’s strategy of replacing its ageing locomotives fleet, which has been deteriorating, owing to underinvestment, old technology, loss of critical skills and deferred maintenance.

Dual-diesel-hybrid versions of the locomotives will be introduced in the latter half of 2015. Of the 70 units, 20 will be the AFRO 4000-series diesel locomotives.

PRASA Rail CEO Mosenngwa Mofi believes that by September next year,the passenger rail company will have gained a critical mass, enabling the reintroduction of services along the mothballed routes.

The locomotives will bolster services for long-distance and regional services, including Shosholoza Meyl, Premier Classe and Metrorail.

The group, which currently operates six corridors, plans to reopen another four, with the Mafikeng to Johannesburg route being a priority.

Ten of the new locomotives will be based in the Eastern Cape, while the others will be focused on long-distance mainline passenger services and regional services.

PRASA’s Metrorail services currently carry more than two-million passengers daily, with another one-million transported through its mainline passenger service each year.

Mofi explains that, at its peak, 120 mainline passenger trains a week are operated, but owing to the ageing and legacy fleet, this has been cut to the current 42 a week.

PRASA chairperson Popo Molefe says that the new locomotives are designed to PRASA specifications to suit local conditions and came fitted with the latest technology.

Features include dual braking; an aerodynamic lightweight body, which boasts speeds of about 120 km/h to 130 km/h; and dual-hybrid-diesel operations, enabling uninterrupted travel without the need to swap lead locomotives to suit each terrain on long distances.

The new locomotives boast driver display units – with route and train management systems for the driver to detect and reset any faults – and has two driving cabs, enabling the vehicle to be driven in both directions without turning.

The introduction of the new fleet will also cut the maintenance costs by half and reduce diesel consumption.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
KPMG, Gibb Engineering and Science, Interfleet Technology and Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs (ENS – feasibility study) and Gibela Rail Transportation, comprising Alstom and its black economic-empowerment equity partners (Phase 1 – rolling stock supply contract) and Siyahamba Engineering (manufacture of drivers’ cab doors for the first 200 PRASA trains); Columbus Steel (coils and sheets for the first 20 passenger train sets); and Vossloh (40 locomotives).

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
PRASA, Moffet Mofokeng, tel +27 12 748 7000 or email momofokeng@prasa.com.
KPMG corporate finance Walter Meyer, tel +27 21 408 7220 or email market.engagement@kpmg.co.za.
Gibb Engineering and Science, tel +27 11 519 4600 or fax +27 11 807 5670.
Interfleet Technology, tel +44 1332 223000 or fax +44 1332 223001.
ENS, tel +27 11 269 7600, fax +27 11 269 7899 or email info@ensafrica.com.
Alstom, tel +27 11 518 8100.
Gibela, Pamella Radebe, tel +27 11 518 8232 or email pamella.radebe@gibela-rail.com.
Siyahamba Engineering, tel +27 11 824 2183 or fax +27 11 824 3627.
Columbus Stainless, tel +27 13 247 9111 or fax +27 13 246 1681.
Vossloh, tel +49 23 92 52 608 or email presse@ag.vossloh.com.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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