Gautrain considering acquisition of 40 more rail cars

25th October 2013

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) is mulling the acquisition of 40 new Gautrain rail cars, says GMA CEO Jack van der Merwe.

“We will have to make a decision before the end of the year.”

Van der Merwe says any new rail cars will be based on the Bombardier Electrostar model, similar to the rolling stock currently in use on the 80 km Gautrain system.

Any new Gautrain rolling stock will have to be acquired by the Gauteng government, even if the system is operated by the Bombela Concession Company (BCC). All Gautrain assets, rolling stock included, belong to the Gauteng government. GMA is an agency of the provincial government.

Van der Merwe says the cost of buying 40 new rail cars has not yet been determined.

The current fleet consists of 96 rail cars.

Van der Merwe adds that there is a need for additional rolling stock as the Gautrain system now carries 52 000 train passen- gers a day, up from 45 000 passengers recorded in July, and 26 000 recorded in April 2012.

The signing of legislation in September that will enable e-tolling on Gauteng’s highways may further push up the rail system’s numbers.

BCC noted in July that it could double only one more morning train to eight cars on the Pretoria–Johannesburg line before it had allocated all the rolling stock it had available for the north–south service.

The commissioning of all available trains, bar the ones that ply the airport line, and also one standby train, was slated only for 2026, when the BCC concession runs out.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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