PRASA selects Siemens for new R961 million signal system

[Steve Appleton]

From Business Day 29th October 2010
http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/C ... ?id=125261

Prasa selects Siemens to replace signalling system
Prasa said yesterday it will spend R961m implementing a new, modern rail signalling system on its commuter rail network.
JULIUS BAUMANN
Published: 2010/10/29 07:11:26 AM

PASSENGER Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) said yesterday it will spend R961m implementing a new, modern rail signalling system on its commuter rail network.

CEO Lucky Montana said at a press briefing in Johannesburg that Prasa had selected Siemens SA from six potential companies as the preferred bidder to replace the old, often unreliable system with a new state-of the-art system.

Siemens was also selected to construct a train control centre which will merge all rail operations in Gauteng into one operational centre.

Construction is expected to begin in January pending the finalisation of negotiations with Siemens.

The new system, together with planned investment in new rolling stock, would be a giant step forward towards greater efficiency, reliability and safety for commuters using Prasa’s Metrorail service.

“The current signalling system is no longer suitable for safe movement and monitoring of traffic. It is unreliable and has contributed to accidents in the recent past. Of the current system, about 80% of the signalling installations have become obsolete and the remainder not able to fully support modern and safe railway operations,” Mr Montana said. “This investment in new technology is an important moment for Prasa.”

The existing system is a mish-mash of systems from the 1930s, 1940s, 1970s and 1980s and in Gauteng relies on manual interventions when handing a train over from one control centre to another.

“It is also prone to collapse, particularly in inclement weather, which has often forced us to cancel trains,” Mr Montana said.

The new system will allow Prasa to increase capacity on key corridors, he said, by reducing bottlenecks and safely increase the number of trains on the track at any given point.

“The system will go a long way in enabling us to meet government’s mandate of providing commuter trains every three to five minutes during peak morning hours.”

In terms of new rolling stock, Mr Montana said that the government had accepted Prasa’s business case for a R96bn upgrade that includes 6800 new coaches and 2000 locomotives. “There is an understanding within government over the urgency of the upgrade and we expect to see new rolling stock being introduced by 2012-13,” he said.

Mr Montana said Prasa’s focus was on improving its Metrorail and Shosholoza Meyl services. “While we did provide Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele with a prefeasibility study of the high-speed rail link between Johannesburg and Durban, we will not be building and operating the new high-speed service.”