The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (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 was aimed at improving the existing rail infrastructure that controls railway traffic in Gauteng and formed part of PRASA’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 would enter operation in 2015.

The overhaul by Siemens of the province’s rail system would entail the replacement of outdated technology – some dating back to the 1930s – with modern electronic systems.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 now called for the modernisation of the remaining three-quarters of the signalling system.

“Upgrading the existing rail infrastructure will increase capacity and ensure more flexibility, greater safety and fewer train delays.

“This modern signalling infrastructure will underpin the safe movements of trains in Gauteng. The need for more effective train control is important as the number, speed, mass and length of the trains in Gauteng increase," PRASA CEO Lucky Montana said in a statement on Wednesday.

The upgrade would 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 implementation of a custom-designed train control operating system across the entire Gauteng network.

Siemens South Africa senior project manager Lucio Lefebvre said the GNC was a core component of the project. The building that would house the GNC would be completed in 2015 when train controls would start being transferred to the new facility.

A key feature of the GNC would be the command room, which would 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 would pick up faults and any tampering with the network.

PRASA pointed out 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.