HRASA UPDATE

Posted on 08 September 2009 by Railways Africa Editor

Historic Rail Association of Southern Africa (HRASA) chairman Chris Janisch reports –

“Since receiving our general mandate to act as the recognised liaison and negotiating body of heritage railways in South Africa, HRASA has slowly but surely started to function as was originally intended. Within the organisation, a proper structure has been set up involving the seven directors and co-opted board members. Each director has a responsibility, and these cover all aspects involving our business. Operations, liaison, membership and marketing are just some of the departments formed. It is hoped to be able to fully announce the new structure of HRASA and the responsible people by next month. At the moment the proposals need to be signed off and approved, but we already have a clear vision of the way forward

“A number of meetings have been held with Transnet, covering operations, interfacing and rates and invoicing. We were also most grateful to be given an audience with some TFR chief executives. Although these meetings did not bring outright results, we have a clearer idea of the task that lies before us.

“Of great importance is the need for us to garner support from local and national departments of tourism. In order to succeed, our operations and plans must contribute to poverty alleviation and job creation, as well as having sustainable tourism potential. We need to broaden our minds beyond heritage rail pieces, to find ways of gaining the buy-in of the authorities. Without this support, current operations will inevitably diminish and new schemes will fall flat.

“The way has already been shown by the Creighton and Paton’s operations in Kwa-Zulu-Natal, while the PE Apple Express is also making inroads into local government. The closed and under utilised branch-lines are of great significance for us- especially as main-lines are firmly out of bounds- and it is hoped that government and Transnet will come to some decision regarding this infrastructure.

“Regarding the Transnet Foundation, a new chief executive, Cynthia Mgijima, was appointed as of 1 July. We shall be meeting with her shortly, as many matters need urgent attention. We are very positive that progress will be forthcoming, particularly with respect to the disposal and lend-lease of TF items. A nationwide stocktaking audit by TF is currently being finalised with the assistance of HRASA and this will allow proper decisions to be made regarding the future of the assets. HRASA, who have the knowledge and responsibility of representing the stakeholders, will be involved as advisers in this process.

“HRASA is not afraid of constructive criticism. It is in fact necessary in order that we may improve our performance. It is however very convenient to sit in an armchair and make wide-ranging negative comments about the state of our heritage railways. This sort of attitude comes from an inability to actually contribute on the ground, and ignorance of the complexity of the task at hand. All members of HRASA are volunteers who give freely of their time for the cause of preservation, in the process incurring a substantial financial burden. It is perhaps not recognised how difficult it is to deal with Transnet and related bodies, who are focused on their core business into which heritage rail does not fit. The whole question of finding a home for us is at present being looked at, but the most likely outcome will be for us to fall under the new Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa).

“Regarding membership of HRASA, no body is forced to take this up. If you lend-lease rolling stock from TF, it is a requirement that you are a HRASA member. We would like to think that all groups would see value in and automatically join HRASA. It is understandable that there was much unhappiness over HRASA in the past, but I believe we have moved beyond this to the point where there will be much to gain by being members.

“SIA members should appreciate that we cannot release details on all subjects, especially with regard to confidential meetings. What we do undertake to do is release a monthly feedback report for general publication. We will try to be as specific and informative as possible.

“We appreciate the chance given us by the members of SIA, and we promise to do our best under the very difficult circumstances. As stated above, there are ways of dealing with all problems, but quick cures there will not be. There is simply not the money nor the support necessary for a full scale rehabilitation of our ailing heritage and branch-line railways.

“We can all make a difference in our own small ways. Every small success will add momentum as we strive to reach critical mass. It is thus important that we all unify under one body and give it the chance it deserves.”