Name and Location
Rail signalling system project, 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 is not able to fully support modern and safe railway operations.

The existing railway signalling system is a mixture of technologies from the 1930s to the 1980s and, in Gauteng, it depends on manual intervention when transferring a train from one control centre to another when the electronic system fails.

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 Simon’s Town to Cape Town.

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

Value
Total value of the signalling programme is estimated at R17-billion.

Siemens has been awarded the R1-billion contract for the Gauteng Phase 1 signalling programme and for Gauteng Phase 2 signalling programme valued at R2.762-billion.

The KwaZulu-Natal new signalling contract is estimated at R1.4-billion and has been awarded to Bombardier Africa Alliance.

The Thales-Maziya consortium has been awarded the R1.87-billion contract to supply a new signalling solution to the Western Cape.

Duration
The project is scheduled for completion in 2018.

Latest Developments
PRASA has commissioned the South African arm of global engineering company Siemens to implement a €180-million railway signalling project on the Johannesburg and Pretoria rail passenger networks.

The project is aimed at improving the existing rail infrastructure that controls railway traffic in Gauteng and forms part of the rail utility’s plans to spend about R7-billion over the next three years on upgrading Gauteng’s signalling system in preparation for the arrival of new commuter trains, which will enter operations in 2015.

Siemens’ overhaul of the province’s rail system will entail the replacement of outdated technology – some dating back to the 1930s – with modern electronic systems.

Siemens started upgrading Gauteng’s rail signalling system in 2011, when it was contracted by PRASA to upgrade one-quarter of the province’s signalling system and to build a centrally controlled operations centre – the Gauteng Nerve Centre (GNC).

PRASA has called for the modernisation of the remaining three-quarters of the signalling system.

The upgrade will include the introduction of electronic interlocking systems, the upgrade or building of new relay rooms, a new train detection system, overhead and track changes, and the implementation of a custom-designed train-control operating system across the entire Gauteng network.

The GNC is a core component of the project. The building that will house the GNC will be completed in 2015 when train controls will be transferred to the new facility.

A key feature of the GNC will be the command room, which will have a 52-m-wide video wall that shows the movement of trains and all activity across the province’s rail network. A fully integrated monitoring system will detect faults and any tampering with the network.

PRASA has indicated that 60% local content would be included in the project, with much of the engineering, manufacturing and testing to take place at the Siemens South Africa factory in Northriding, Johannesburg.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Siemens South Africa (supply of rail signalling system and GNC – Gauteng); Thales-Maziya (supply of rail signalling system – Western Cape); Bombadier 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) and Huawei (digital radio communications system).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
PRASA, Moffet Mofokeng, tel +27 12 748 7000 or email momofokeng@prasa.com.
Siemens Africa infrastructure and cities sector Keshin Govender, tel +27 11 652 2146 or email sithembile.mokaeane@siemens.com; or Rolf Huber, tel +27 11 652 2000 or email rolf.huber@siemens.com.
Bombardier Transportation, Sandy Roth, tel +49 30 98607 1147.
Thales, Victoire Chartier, tel +33 1 57 77 90 22 or email victoire.chartier@thalesgroup.com.