The first new Xtra’polis Mega commuter train to be built in South Africa was undergoing final testing and would be handed over to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) before year-end, transport consortium Gibela reported in late November.
The train is being tested on a 1.2 km customised test track at Gibela’s manufacturing facility at Dunnottar, Gauteng, and can reach a top speed of 120 km/h.
Asecond X’trapolis Mega commuter train is nearing completion and Gibela will deliver at least six trains to Prasa by the end of March.
Gibela launched its R1-billion, 78 ha train manufacturing facility in October. The plant is fitted with more than R350-million worth of specialised equipment, including seven-axis welding robots, the first of their kind to be used in the rail industry globally.
At full production, it will turn out two railway cars a day, one-and-a-half trains a week, 62 trains a year and a total of 580 trains over the next ten years.
The trains will be delivered to Prasa as part of a R51-billion contract for 600 X’trapolis Mega commuter trains. The first 20 were manufactured in Brazil, with the last of these arriving in South Africa in June 2017.
Some 65% of the value of each train is spent with local suppliers. Currently, there are 71 South African suppliers registered with Gibela for the supply of various goods and services, and a robust supplier development programme is in place to ensure this number grows.