Name of the Project
PRASA rail signalling system project.

Location
South Africa.

Client
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

Project Description
PRASA plans to implement a new technologically advanced rail signalling system on its commuter rail network to replace the old and often unreliable system. The company reports that nearly 80% of its existing signalling installations have become obsolete and the remainder are not able to fully support modern and safe railway operations.

The project will include the modernisation of the rail signalling, communications and train management systems in high-volume corridors, such as Naledi, in Soweto, to Johannesburg; Pretoria to Johannesburg; Mabopane to Pretoria; Mamelodi to Pretoria; KwaMashu–Durban–Umlazi; Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and Philippi to Cape Town; Kraaifontein–Bellville–Cape Town; and from Simon’s Town to Cape Town.

The new system will enhance operational capacity, allow for better flexibility, improve safety and reduce train delays and reliance on the human factor.

Jobs to be created
Not stated.

Value
Siemens has been awarded the R1-billion contract for the Gauteng Phase 1 signalling programme and the Gauteng Phase 2 signalling programme contract valued at R3.8-billion.

The KwaZulu-Natal new signalling contract is estimated at R1.3-billion and has been awarded to Bombardier Africa Alliance.

The Thales-Maziya consortium has been awarded the R1.8-billion contract to supply a new signalling solution to the Western Cape.

Duration
The Gauteng signalling project is scheduled for completion in 2018.

The signaling contracts in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape are expected to be completed in 2019.

Latest Developments
A digital wireless communications system – GSM for railway, or GSM-R – is being deployed to improve PRASA’s operations and run its rail passenger transport systems more efficiently.

The GSM-R system is a digital train-to-ground communication system based on international wireless GSM standard and European Integrated Radio Enhanced Network specifications for railway communications and applications. Huawei

developed and implemented the system in a consortium with Altech Alcom Matomo.
PRASA business development head Piet Sebola notes that 153 GSM-R sites along PRASA’s network have been completed – 75 in Gauteng, 42 in the Western Cape and 36 in KwaZulu-Natal. Additional sites, stations and depots will be added, as well as critical sites along the lines.

All the sites are currently in the testing and commissioning stages.

The contract with the consortium will result in it providing the maintenance support for two years, as PRASA builds its own capacity to support the R600-million, over-five-years investment.

The new communication system will link with the broader upgrade and investment programmes being rolled out by PRASA, including new stations and new trains, resulting in the improvement of its rail infrastructure.

The consortium’s end-to-end GSM-R solution offers mission-critical rail operational voice and data functions, which enable train drivers, controllers, signalling engineers and crew members to perform routine operations more efficiently and reliably.

“It will also provide communication services for automatic train protection systems and introduce [the enabling of] semiautomatic train driving capacity in the network, thereby further improving the reliability and safety of the rail operation, along with opportunities to increase track capacity. This will significantly improve customer satisfaction and passenger safety,” Huawei Railway executive Norman Frisch has said.

The solution comprises an Internet Protocol soft-switch core network that improves data transmission efficiency, simplifies network management tasks, reduces operating costs and supports the smooth evolution from the legacy systems to the future railway mobile communication systems currently being specified by the International Union of Railways.

The widely used Huawei distributed base station technology implements quick and flexible GSM-R radio coverage in places such as railway servitudes including tunnels and cuttings, and at level crossings. Additionally, multiple sites with remote radio unit co-cell technology have been established to expand cell coverage, improve radio quality and reduce cell handovers.

To allow for long-distance GSM-R radio services across provinces, ensure reliable railway operation and facilitate interworking between multivendor devices, state-of-the-art redundancy concepts were applied to the GSM-R network design for PRASA.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Siemens South Africa (supply of rail signalling system and GNC – Gauteng); Thales-Maziya (supply of rail signalling system – Western Cape); Bombardier Africa Alliance, comprising Bombardier Transportation, ERB Technologies, Basil Read, Bakara Engineering, R&H Railway Consultants, SIMS and Tractionel (supply of rail signalling system – KwaZulu-Natal); Siemens and Hatch Goba (rail signalling testing); Huawei and Altech Alcom Matomo (digital radio communications system); Mott MacDonald PDNA (environmental-impact study); Mehleketo (roof construction).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
PRASA, Nana Zenani, tel +27 83 297 5905 or email nzenani@prasa.com.