TRANSPORT Minister Sbu Ndebele is under the microscope of commuter organisations after declaring open a multi-billion rand tender process for a passenger rail overhaul programme
The organisations say they will keep watch to make sure he delivers on his promise.
Yesterday Ndebele and Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) Group CEO Lucky Montana announced a R23-billion initiative to revitalise the collapsing rail system.
Ndebele told prospective bidders in Johannesburg that they could start submitting their bids from next week. The programme will include the manufacturing of new sets of train components from scratch for the next 20 years.
The delivery of the first train is expected in 2015 when 720 coaches will have been manufactured, while 7224 coaches are expected to be ready by 2030.
Ndebele said a winning bidder would be expected to meet world's standards. "The new, modern trains will be similar to trains you see in major cities of the world ... in Italy, Spain, France, UK, Brazil, Portugal and many developed countries.
"These modern trains are commonly defined by greater passenger mobility, automatic train protection and high quality of crashworthiness as critical safety features: carrying capacity is high, they are energy efficient and very light, largely based on aluminium rather than heavy steel," Ndebele said.
He dedicated the initiative to late ANC president Chief Albert Luthuli, who was killed by a train near his home in KwaZulu-Natal, and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, who was thrown out of a moving train between Durban and Johannesburg more than 100 years ago. Gandhi had refused to leave a compartment designated for whites only.
Montana said while the process to acquire new rolling stock unfolds, Prasa will focusing on maintaining the ageing current fleet.
"We cannot just phase out all the old trains. The last train in the current fleet will be scrapped in 2032. For now, we will be working on upgrading infrastructure, raising levels of maintenance and building new depots," Montana said.
The bidding process would be opened from next Tuesday and a preferable bidder will be announced at the end of November.
Transport minister under pressure to deliver
TRANSPORT Minister Sbu Ndebele is under the microscope of commuter organisations after declaring open a multi-billion rand tender process for a passenger rail overhaul programme
The organisations say they will keep watch to make sure he delivers on his promise.
Yesterday Ndebele and Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) Group CEO Lucky Montana announced a R23-billion initiative to revitalise the collapsing rail system.
Ndebele told prospective bidders in Johannesburg that they could start submitting their bids from next week. The programme will include the manufacturing of new sets of train components from scratch for the next 20 years.
The delivery of the first train is expected in 2015 when 720 coaches will have been manufactured, while 7224 coaches are expected to be ready by 2030.
Ndebele said a winning bidder would be expected to meet world's standards. "The new, modern trains will be similar to trains you see in major cities of the world ... in Italy, Spain, France, UK, Brazil, Portugal and many developed countries.
"These modern trains are commonly defined by greater passenger mobility, automatic train protection and high quality of crashworthiness as critical safety features: carrying capacity is high, they are energy efficient and very light, largely based on aluminium rather than heavy steel," Ndebele said.
He dedicated the initiative to late ANC president Chief Albert Luthuli, who was killed by a train near his home in KwaZulu-Natal, and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, who was thrown out of a moving train between Durban and Johannesburg more than 100 years ago. Gandhi had refused to leave a compartment designated for whites only.
Montana said while the process to acquire new rolling stock unfolds, Prasa will focusing on maintaining the ageing current fleet.
"We cannot just phase out all the old trains. The last train in the current fleet will be scrapped in 2032. For now, we will be working on upgrading infrastructure, raising levels of maintenance and building new depots," Montana said.
The bidding process would be opened from next Tuesday and a preferable bidder will be announced at the end of November.
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