South Africa’s National Rail Policy Green Paper, unveiled in September by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, proposes a move from Cape gauge to standard gauge, as well as selected participation by the private sector in the domestic rail network.
The Green Paper aims to solicit input from relevant stakeholders and the public, with the goal to ultimately develop a national rail policy.
For a number of decades, railways in South Africa operated without an overarching policy framework to guide development, says Peters.
“The railway sector has long been awaiting this Green Paper in order to create a much-needed policy dialogue.”
Peters notes that more than half of South Africa’s rolling stock and rail network are more than 50 years old.
“This impacts negatively on service delivery, especially the movement of freight and commuters.”
Obsolete rail infrastructure and rolling stock, inefficient operations and the underuse of the network have resulted in rail losing market share to road, with rail carrying 11% of the country’s freight and road carrying 89%, she notes.
“Consequently,[rail] is no longer able to compete effectively with other transport modes.”
Green Paper Interventions
Peters notes that only 9%of the world’s railways remain on Cape gauge,while 60% operate on standard gauge.
“Standard gauge is clearly the superior gauge and is, therefore, proposed as an appropriate gauge for the country in meeting future capacity demands.
“This is in line with the African Union resolution that all future railways must be on standard gauge.”
She adds: “Government recognises the enormity of the investment required to achieve the set objectives and that existing sources will be inadequate to fund all the requirements.”
The Green Paper also recommends private-sector participation and investment in projects where government cannot afford to invest and/or where value for money can be demonstrated.
Peters says all new rail developments within State-owned enterprises, or from any other player, will have to “be aligned to the new planning frameworks”.
The Green Paper is open for comment.
The Department of Transport (DoT) will also conduct workshops on the document in all provinces.
Public consultation closed on November 15.
Standard Gauge
Rail gauge refers to the space between the rails on a railway track. Cape gauge, currently largely in use in South Africa, is 3.6 feet, and standard gauge 4.8 feet.
Technically, standard gauge allows for higher-speed trains and load benefits such as the double- stacking of containers.
Acting Transnet group CEO Siyabonga Gama says it will cost R1.5-trillion to convert South Africa’s rail network to standard gauge.
He notes that the policy changes suggested by the Green Paper will be “like eating an elephant”, and that changes will have to be implemented bit by bit on a case-by-case basis.
He notes that several of Transnet’s customers do not necessarily require a faster service, but rather one that is on time.
It also remains necessary to enable rail trade between South Africa and its neighbouring countries, which use Cape gauge.
DoT rail regulation chief director Ngwako Makaepea emphasises that the change to standard gauge “will not happen overnight”, and will only follow a cost benefit analysis on certain selected corridors.
“We are inviting discussions on this.”
The Green Paper suggests that the current urban commuter rail network remain on Cape gauge.
University of Johannesburg Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management’s Professor Jackie Walters also emphasises that any move to standard gauge will have to be done on a “case-by-case basis”, following “proper cost benefit analysis” to see if the cargo attracted to such a line can support the investment costs in a sustainable manner.
Moving to the wider standard gauge not only affects the rolling stock and railway line, but potentially also the width of the rail reserve, signalling systems, bridges and tunnels.
Walters says moving the entire network to standard gauge will make Transnet’s current multibillion-rand rolling stock investments obsolete.
He says it can be positive to implement a standard-gauge network on high-volume corridors such as Durban–Gauteng, where the road network is struggling to cope.
Gama adds that Transnet’s current R300-billion-plus investment fell short of the R500-billion to R700-billion required, which leaves room for private-sector participation in South Africa’s rail sector.
Walters welcomes the emphasis on the private sector in the rail industry, saying this sector “has previously, to a large degree, been absent”.