The newly formed Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) will need to introduce some 560 new coaches yearly for the next 10 to 12 years if it is to effectively match capacity to anticipated demand growth and reposition commuter rail at the heart of the country’s public transport system, CEO Lucky Montana is reported saying in an interview with Engineering News. “Such an aspiration would require an investment far beyond the R25 billion already allocated by national government for the next three years.”

The report continues: :”Further, such a material scale-up, which could also include the creation of new rail corridors and the deployment of light-rail and high-speed trains, would probably only be possible in partnership with private sector investors and financiers.

“Prasa is the product of the still unfolding merger between the South African Rail Commuter Corporation’s Metrorail and the passenger transport businesses that have hitherto been housed within Transnet – Shosoloza Meyl and the Translux and City-to-City brands that fall under Autopax. It also embraces the Intersite property business that operates and maintains a significant property portfolio, including hundreds of stations.

“With the addition of the intercity bus business, Prasa will also assess inter-modal transport options, particularly for those commuters seeking a reliable urban-rural transport alternative.”

Montana was quoted saying: “We believe the integration of the bus services will complement the rail service. It gives us the option to transport people across modes, using rail say from Johannesburg to Umtata and then a bus to rural Transkei.”

“In the meantime, however, the focus is on a significant catch-up investment programme, designed to incrementally improve the existing service, which is currently able to sustain about 650 million passenger journeys yearly. Some R4 billion has already been spent on upgrading rolling stock, and there is a programme to upgrade 2,000 coaches by the end of 2010. Montana anticipates that about R5 billion would be spent in the next financial year.”

“We have done 1,400 already, and 700 more of these will be done in the new financial year,” Montana said, adding that there was also a significant drive to improve infrastructure, particularly those stations that would be used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

“Some R300 million has been set aside for small incremental improvements to the station sites, from the revamping and opening of toilets, through to new fencing and painting programmes.

“We have the upgrades, but we are now reaching a point where we need to begin adjusting from upgrades to building new capacity. And we know that this company, at this point in time, does not have all the financial resources and that we will have to get support from the private sector,” Montana concluded.

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