Metrorail’s first new passenger train will arrive in November next year, says Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) CEO Lucky Montana.
“Next year, we will be able to put our [arms] around the infrastructure and equipment we have been talking about for so long.”
The new train forms part of a R51-billion deal to acquire 600 new trains from the Gibela consortium, with the first 20 to be imported from Brazil.
The remaining 580 trains will be produced locally.
Metrorail is a subsidiary of PRASA.
Montana says that several lessons can be learned from the rolling stock deal.
The first is that South Africa “should never again” underinvest in its railway system, as has been the case over the last 30 to 40 years.
“Buying this [number] of trains is inefficient,” says Montana. “You need to buy a few at a time because you are expanding a line – that’s how to do it.”
The second lesson is that maintenance is vital to operating any railway system, he adds.
“When we talk underinvestment, we include maintenance.”
Montana says proper maintenance would have ensured a better running Metrorail service today, even without investment in new rolling stock.
The third lesson is that the proposed factory in Nigel, on the East Rand, set to build the new rolling stock, should not only build trains for South Africa, but also for Africa, as the coaches should be suitable to do duty all over the continent.
A fourth lesson is that the rail industry should not allow skills to disappear through a cycle of underinvestment.
The good news is that many people working in the UK and other countries want to return to South Africa to participate in government’s new rail programmes, says Montana.
A fifth lesson is the vital importance of the relationship between land use and the provision of transport, he notes.
“Housing development and transport provision and expansion must correlate,” he emphasises. “We need to look at densification and land use patterns.”
This is necessary to combat the current overuse of rail systems in only one direction during peak periods, with low passenger numbers outside peak periods.
“We need to carry more people, all the time, in all directions,” says Montana.
He says minibus taxis have been successful in the South African landscape as they have always been the quickest to respond to customer demand.
Montana adds that thriving cities require railways to be the heart of the transport system.
“Rail has the capacity. Yes, it costs a lot of money in the beginning, but it benefits all of us in the long term.”