There's a very interesting article in the latest
Railways Africa magazine by Dave van der Meulen entitled "
How permanent is Permanent Way?"
In it he makes the very interesting point that at the same time the railways was built into the hinterland, roads and road passes was constructed by great builders such as Bain. Over the decades these road passes was rebuilt, realigned and some times even totally cut out by tunnels and the like. Unfortunately rail didn't follow the same path, while there has been some deviations and alterations, the scale hasn't even came close to the roads. He makes the example of the Nuwekloof pass between Cape Town and Worcester. At the same time Bain built the road pass through the Nuwe kloof, he also engineered the railway through the same valley. Now the road pass has been rebuilt, taken to the other side of the valley, replaced by the Du Toit's kloof pass and more recently superseded by the Hugenot Tunnel, cutting the previous journey by 11km and as much as 25 minutes! What has been done on the rail side in the past 135 years? Nothing actually. Except for the electrification of the line, the daily Boland Blits passenger train still takes more than three hours from the City to Worcester, by car it would take you little longer than one hour. I don't suppose the timetable of the Transkaroo
Express train (as it was officially known then) has changed in length since the opening of the Hexton tunnels in 1989,
and that's 20 years ago!
If only the government can realise that there is still 100 years of unopened advancement in Cape Gauge available to them. The Gautrain is wonderful, but just imagine what PRASA could've done with that R30 billion!
I conclude with an extract from the October
1980 (30 years ago...) issue of SASSAR where Dr. JGH Loubser gave his "
Thoughts on future transport tendencies, particularly in South Africa".
PASSENGER TRAFFIC
...It is expected that the increase in private long distance motor car traffic in the 1990's and further on will slow down - it may even decrease. Rail transport is the most energy-effective form of land transport and is not dependent on liquid fuel. I expect that the electric train will play and increasing role in inter-city passenger transport particularly over short distances. By the end of the century, the population density in our cities is unlikely to have reached proportions which will justify special tracks for super high speed trains between cities more than 200-300km apart.
"In South Africa the train will not provide an acceptable alternative method of transport for the businessman over longer distances and the demand for domestic air transport will increase considerably. In the case of international services there is also no fast alternative and the demand should remain strong.
SUBURBAN PASSENGER TRAFFIC
As I have tried to illustrate before, economic and other factors are likely to favour an intensive but geographically limited suburban transport service. In this service I expect the train to provide the bulk of the transport with the other modes acting as feeders to the rail. This will be the most fuel efficient system and will avoid capital expenditure on parallel systems. The suburban train of the future will have little that is luxurious about it. It will be designed to accommodate as many passengers as possible, mostly standing, and will not be capable of particularly high speeds. Its acceleration and deceleration will be high so that its average speed including stops can be high. After all this is a stop-start operation.
MEDIUM DISTANCE, INTER-CITY PASSENGER TRAINS
As I discussed earlier, we expect a demand for high speed, medium distance (inter-city) services to develop. To prepare for this demand we have already commenced a four stage plan.
-> Stage 1:
This stage as been completed. We have established the limitations of our existing rolling stock and track systems, but have nevertheless implemented the recommendations of a special study group with the introduction of express city-to-city trains. It is clear, however, that the improvements which can be obtained with our present equipment are limited - not surprisingly, as our equipment is purpose-designed - and it is the intention to proceed to stage 2 as soon as possible.
-> Stage 2:
During this stage it is the aim to achieve a significantly higher speed level at the earliest possible date. It is the intention to introduce two locomotive-hauled passenger trains consisting of rolling stock of our present design modified to be capable of speeds of 150km/h. These pilot trains will be introduced as a pilot scheme on the Pretoria-Johannesburg section during 1982. The proposed train services will provide operational experience at reasonable cost with rolling stock, current supply systems and signalling equipment. These pilot systems will also fill an existing need of shorter travelling times and will supplement initially, and finally replace present express suburban trains.
-> Stage 3:
Once the 150km/h pilot trains have proved technically and economically feasible their services will be extended gradually to full inter-city services radiating from Johannesburg and extending to places such as Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Klerksdorp, etc. These inter-city services could be operated with modified rolling stock of our present design, but will require drastic modifications to track and associated equipment. The sequence and timing of these services will, of course, depend on passenger demand, availability of capital, etc.
-> Stage 4:
A demand for high speed trains of international standard, operating over inter-city networks is likely to arive once the 150km/h services have gained acceptance and become economically viable. It is, therefore, the intention to establish by 1982 system criteria for air-conditioned rolling stock capable of operating at maximum speeds of abouth 200km/h on our 1065mm track. Wherever practicable the requirements for the high-speed equipment will be embodied in all rolling stock purchased even though such vehicles will not be used at higher speeds initially.
LONG DISTANCE PASSENGER TRAINS
The demand for long distance passenger trains is likely to increase, particularly during holiday periods, as fuel prices increase. Because of rising costs, however, accommodation, and particularly services are likely to become more austere. Demand for catering services has declined to such an extent that we are already making use of catering cars instead of dining cars. With these cars only a limited number of popular dishes (curry-and-rice, pie-and-gravy, etc.) are available. These are sold in the corridor or can be fetched from the catering car as required. This system allows a reduction of staff whilst still providing an acceptable service. As we develop the high speed technology the range of inter-city services will be extended.
Maybe it's time we tackle Stages 3 and 4...
