Name and Location
New Rolling Stock Procurement Programme, nationwide, South Africa.

Client
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

Project Description
The Department of Transport, through PRASA, is to invest in a new rail rolling stock fleet-renewal programme across South Africa.

The programme will upgrade and expand the current rail infrastructure by introducing new stock for commuter rail service Metrorail and by offering more routes between destinations in South Africa.

The aim is to replace the old fleet, which has reached the end of its design life.

As part of the procurement programme, PRASA aims to upgrade and construct fully functional modern maintenance depots at Braamfontein, Wolmerton, Salt River, Durban Yard and Springfield, which will support and service PRASA’s new metro trains by the time the first new train sets are delivered in the first quarter of 2015. The new depots will meet maintenance demand of the new, increased fleet and PRASA’s existing metro trains, until 2034.

The modernisation will mainly consist of the refurbishment or upgrade of selected existing buildings, the construction of additional operational buildings and the reconstruction of the staging yards. The initial phase of the works will include the demolition of selected existing buildings in preparation for the upgrade.

The upgrade will result in the introduction of the following technologies at the depots to optimise operational efficiencies:
• a new in-floor lifting system (synchronised retractable train-lifting jacks);
• a new universal lifting system, which allows for the synchronised lifting of different types of trains;
• an underfloor wheel lathe, which enables wheel-set profiling on site; and
• yard signalling, to allow for the efficient control of train movements within the yards.

Value
R123-billion.

An extra R14.5-billion will be invested in signalling, new depots, modern stations and integrated ticketing.

Duration
The 20-year procurement process will comprise two periods – the first ten-year contract will run from 2015 and the second from 2025.

The first new trains are expected for delivery in 2015.

Latest Developments
Gibela has preselected nearly 100 local companies as possible component and service suppliers to fulfil local-content requirements.

The suppliers will be vetted, after which negotiations will begin.

Eleven letters of intent for the provision of steel, cables, lights, interiors, connectors and insulation have, thus far, been signed, while four contracts with local suppliers are in place.

Gibela CEO Marc Granger says the company is targeting 70% local content in its components and services to revitalise the South African economy and develop local supply chains.

Germiston-based Siyahamba Engineering, one of the companies contracted, was awarded the contract for the manufacture of drivers’ cab doors for the first 200 PRASA trains over a four-year period.

A further contract for additional scope of work is currently under negotiation.

Meanwhile, Granger has indicated that the company has three main challenges in executing the R51-billion contract to supply PRASA with 600 new trains.

The first is to complete the design engineering of the X’Trapolis MEtric GAuge units Gibela will supply to PRASA’s Metrorail service. The first 20 trains will be built in Brazil and shipped to South Africa by the end of 2015. This is a relatively easy challenge, he says.

The second challenge is to start up the factory to produce the remaining 580 trains. Construction of the trains at the East Rand site must start in February next year.

The third challenge has two parts. Firstly, Gibela will need staff to build the trains. This means Gibela has 18 to 24 months to find and train 1 500 people to build the required rolling stock. Secondly, parts and raw materials required for the trains have to be secured from a local rolling stock supply chain, which mostly does not exist yet. “This is perhaps the most critical challenge,” says Granger.

“We will do it. We have done these localisation processes before and we know how to do it,” Granger insists.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
KPMG, Gibb Engineering and Science, Interfleet Technology and Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs (ENS – feasibility study) and Gibela Rail Transportation, comprising Alstom and its black economic-empowerment equity partners (Phase 1 – rolling stock supply contract) and Siyahamba Engineering (manufacture of drivers’ cab doors for the first 200 PRASA trains).

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
PRASA, Moffet Mofokeng, tel +27 12 748 7000 or email momofokeng@prasa.com.
KPMG corporate finance Walter Meyer, tel +27 21 408 7220 or email market.engagement@kpmg.co.za.
Gibb Engineering and Science, tel +27 11 519 4600 or fax +27 11 807 5670.
Interfleet Technology, tel +44 1332 223000 or fax +44 1332 223001.
ENS, tel +27 11 269 7600, fax +27 11 269 7899 or email info@ensafrica.com.
Alstom, tel +27 11 518 8100.
Gibela, Pamela Radebe, tel +27 11 518 8232 or email pamella.radebe@gibela-rail.com.
Siyahamba Engineering, tel +27 11 824 2183 or fax +27 11 824 3627.