Swiss train manufacturer Stadler Rail was awaiting the outcome of its bid to have the awarding of a R51-billion State-owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) passenger train supply tender reviewed by a court.

Dudula Rail, a consortium comprising ABB South Africa and the Switzerland-based Stadler, lodged a court application in February to have the tender documents made available.

The consortium, which was one of six bidders that failed to secure the much-anticipated contract, aimed to “understand the events that led to the decisions being taken,” Stadler executive VP Felice Massaro explained.

The R51-billion contract, which included the design and construction of 3 600 passenger trains for the utility over a ten-year period, from 2015 to 2025, and provide maintenance and technical support, as well as supply spares, until 2033.

The contract formed the first phase of a larger R123-billion recapitalisation programme to add over 7 200 new metro coaches to Prasa’s fleet by 2035.

The tender was awarded to the Cabinet-endorsed Gibela Rail Transportation consortium, comprising French multinational Alstom and local engineering company Actom.

An interdepartmental team comprising Prasa, the Department of Transport, the National Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry evaluated the bids in a four-tier process, and Prasa’s board approved the recommended bidder.

Stadler said it aimed to establish the reasons for it not succeeding in winning the bid, but was declined access to the tender documents despite numerous requests, leaving the firm no option but to take the legal route under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.

Prasa indicated that it would respond to questions posed by Engineering News Online in due course.

“Our aim is most certainly not to slow down Prasa’s plans to modernise South Africa’s rail infrastructure, but to pursue our reasonable, justifiable and legitimate grounds of review,” Massaro said.

The winning bidder was required to deliver test trains by the first quarter of 2015 and operational trains by the fourth quarter.

As part of the bid, the Alstom-led consortium promised the creation of 8 088 direct jobs and had offered to spend R797-million on skills development initiatives, R746-million on the development of enterprises in the rail sector and R273-million on socioeconomic contributions.

It had also indicated that R32.8-billion would be spent on subcontracting to black economic-empowerment entities, while R5.3-billion and R1.6-billion of goods would be procured from small businesses and entities owned by black women respectively.

The other bidders were Canada-based Bombardier; Spain-based Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, or CAF; China South Rail (CSR); China North Rail; and the CSR/Wictra consortium comprising CSR and South Africa-based Wictra.

The date of finalisation for the requested review was yet to be determined, but Stadler remained in talks with Prasa on the sidelines, in an attempt to conclude the matter out of court.