News - Train to Pretoria

[Gabor Kovacs]

From the News24Fin.com website.

Train to Pretoria
Oct 17 2008 08:06

Antoinette Slabbert

Pretoria - Pretoria could become the first city in South Africa to have an integrated public train service to the Gautrain standard.

Gautrain Management Agency chief executive Jack van der Merwe announced on Thursday that the envisaged Moloto line between Pretoria and KwaNdebele would be "of the same standard as the Gautrain".

This means, inter alia, that the planned R9.7bn line, like the Gautrain, would be built according to the international track width of 1 435mm.

South Africa's present tracks are 1 067mm wide - a legacy of the British colonial empire and out of step with the rest of the world.

Public transport, roads and works MEC Ignatius Jacobs said that thousands of workers get up at 03:00 each day to catch a bus to work in Pretoria, and return home only at 19:00 - too late to spend time with their children.

Some commuters travel 195km to work, and just as many back each day, on buses subsidised by Government. The Moloto Road is notorious for frequent horrific bus accidents with an accompanying loss of lives.

Van der Merwe says that the national transport department is busy appointing a professional team to lay the railway line. He is unable to say when construction will begin. The Moloto line will run from Groblersdal to the Koedoespoort station in the east of Pretoria.

Koedoespoort is about 8km from Hartbeesspruit near Hatfield in Pretoria, where the Gautrain route from Johannesburg will end. The intention is to replace the current narrow-gauge track between these two points with the international track width in order to connect the two lines.

A further proposal to convert the Pretoria Ring Rail system to the international track width, resulting in a totally integrated railway system, is under consideration by government.

The Ring Rail has about 26 stations along a circular route from Koedoespoort, through residential areas in Die Moot, to Pretoria West and via Pretoria Station in the city centre to Muckleneuk and Hatfield.

The narrower gauge will enable trains to go faster, considerably shortening travelling time.

The coaches for the current narrower track have to be specially manufactured, while coaches for the international width are available worldwide from various manufacturers.

- Sake24

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Question/s:

If there is any real long term substance to this article, it will certainly effect FotRs' operation in and around Pretoria. Even though we as an organization may only be just "small fry" in terms of the "railway land" landscape, is Gautrain aware that their intended plans will certainly effect FotRs' future operations and viability as a tourist attraction and operator in the Pretoria area?

I think FotR should take this news article very seriously, and probably start considering to open some sort of dialogue with Gautrain, to inform them of our existence, but make necessary representations on our operations, current and future plans, so that both modern and heritage operations can effectively operate side by side in the future.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Well raised Gabor!

Starting discussions with the powers that be NOW, as opposed to when we have to put out fires in the future is probably a good idea.

Does anyone have any existing contacts here?

[Gabor Kovacs]

I can only suggest Mike du Plooy, who now heads up his own railway consultancy. Mike is also a member of Reefsteamers.

From another source, I believe Mike consults for SARCC, TFR and also Gautrain!

Cell +27 83 461 7314
Fax +27 11 763 6113
Fax2Email +27 86 616 5058

[Chris Janisch]

And for Setimela!

Whoever makes schemes like this has no idea of the realities of the rail system- you cannot change the gauge of the national system, and of what use is it? The Gautrain had no business going broad gauge, there was obviously something going on in the background. It is expensive enough without complicating matters..

[Steve Appleton]

I agree with Chris. In my view Gautrain was a cooked-up scheme sold to the Gauteng goverment by various consortia of European railway manufacturers needing to soak up their excess capacity. Since every African administration seems to covet a grand, iconic, physical project and Gauteng already had the usual one, an international airport, the next best thing was a railway. Yes, a transport solution was urgently needed and the best option was a new rail link. But, it did not have to be so unique. It could have been a new 1065 mm system built using the latest technology and standards.
I submit as proof, the choice of gauge and the origin of the rolling stock. Despite what has been said in the quoted article and elsewhere, 1435 mm gauge was never necessary for safety at the speeds planned. The direct translocation of a UK rolling stock design is further proof. I think this was deliberately done for financial security (and to create jobs in the home plants): if this thing doesn't fly, the consortia can recoup somewhat by simply repatriating all the stuff, lock, stock and barrel, to the UK; selling it there. This would be a little more difficult if the gauge was 1065 mm.
BTW, the exact same bodied rolling stock could have been built to run on our 1065 mm with, principally, just a change of bogies. The coaches would never have had to specially manufactured for 1065 mm as claimed!
I cannot ever see the relaying of the existing Metrorail/TFR tracks around Pretoria to the wider gauge - that would be too disruptive to the existing Metro services and to TFR freight. Dual gauge is also probably ruled out because of the major differences in signalling and power supply standards. The only likely scenario would be to parallel the existing tracks with new 1435 mm ones, as is being done to Hatfield. So, folks, don't panic!

[Steve Appleton]

South Africa's present tracks are 1 067mm wide - a legacy of the British colonial empire and out of step with the rest of the world.

I have seen colonialism blamed for almost everything: now this!!
The reality is that the choice of gauge was a straight-forward technical/financial necessity in the early days of the construction of railways in SA. In fact, the initial lines in Natal and the Cape were built to the imperialist, colonial standard of 1435 mm. The change to 1065 mm was a local decision! The author should be informed that Gautrain has re-imposed an old, colonial standard.

[Gabor Kovacs]

It’s certainly not my intention to create panic, however, I think it will be extremely unwise and naive for FotR no to "sit-up" and take note of what may or may not happen in SA's "railway land" future, especially when it concerns the Pretoria area!

Already, as we have experienced in the recent past, Gautrain developments have already made "small in roads" on our operation/s, especially on our Tswane trains.

I think it would be far better to approach Gautrain directly, and as already mentioned get some form of communication going between FotR and Gautrain, and get the real facts from each “horses’ mouth” on the table, and plan together so that both modern and heritage operations can work effectively side by side in the future, without causing unnecessary dis-advantage to either.

Yes the news article has a few negative political connotations to it, but even worse is the technical details given.
I feel that there is many motives behind this, but as we already know one thing, that under the current government structures money is no object when it comes to providing for the masses.

[Nathan Berelowitz]

Intereseting point here, and worth looking into. I have contacted one of the leaders of the "out of work waste paper collectors", who is a local person and not colonial at all, and he will look at constructing a guage change vehicle, that can be slipped under the wheels of our current stock, to reguage for the new guage. These will be constructed solely from ex colonial designed supermarket trolley wheels and chassies. He is at present negotiating via cell phone for access to the trolleys...