ISSUE 5 // 2014
Developments in heavy haul WWW.RAILWAYSAFRICA.COM
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RAILWAYS AFRICA / COMMENT
Comment When we don’t look after things, they fall to pieces. We’ve
The locals in Kenya were agitating recently, following the
found this out the hard way in Africa, notably where railways
discovery that Chinese workers were pouring in to help build
are concerned. To date, our fairy godmothers in China have
the new line from Mombasa. As a matter of fact, the Tanzam
been around to pick up what we have dropped along the way.
route to Dar es Salaam was constructed largely using Chinese labour. It may not be a coincidence but it is certainly a fact - by
China’s first serious foray into African rail was the impressive
the time problems started, the Chinese were gone.
Tazara line. It worked well in the beginning but wasn’t looked after. During the past three decades, it has fallen on hard
Unlike the colonialists of old, China doesn’t take over and run
times, all too often.
countries – and it doesn’t run or maintain their railways. Once the builders depart, disrepair can set in all too easily.
In every instance, China has eventually pitched in to help, sending in locomotives, rolling stock or money. Their patience
If China continues revamping railways in Africa, and filling
has been remarkable, because those operating the line do
missing links, the continent is going to have a first class
not seem to get the message: if you let things collapse, they
network. However, while the present regime in Beijing is
don’t run.
sympathetic to Africa’s problems and generous to a degree, future administrations might be less enthusiastic about
Today, China is involved in serious railway business in a
righting the results of neglect. It would be a huge pity if the
number of African countries. In many cases, obviously, it’s
beneficiaries fail – tomorrow - to maintain what has been
mutually advantageous, and people with useful resources to
provided today.
trade, like oil, iron ore and coal, probably enjoy priority in the queue.
There’s a lesson here you can’t miss. No matter who is in charge, no matter who is responsible for a railway’s
Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda are all benefitting
maintenance, if it isn’t looked after, it’s going to fail.
from Chinese rail money and expertise. The railways of these All were once reliable, showpiece systems. Political historians concede they were well-maintained, explaining that colonial governments needed to move minerals efficiently to Europe.
disintegrate, once the colonialists left.
EDITOR Rollo Dickson DESIGN & LAYOUT Dean McTavish Sedibelo Phetoe
countries had several common denominators in their history.
This doesn’t explain why each of the railways was allowed to
PUBLISHER Barbara Sheat
BARBARA SHEAT Publisher / Railways Africa
WEBSITE Dean McTavish ADVERTISING Andrew Lanham SUBSCRIPTIONS Ophelia Naidoo CONTRIBUTORS John Batwell Andrew Lanham Bruno Martin Jacque Wepener Geoff Cooke Pierre de Wet Nathan Berelowitz Dieter Fiedel
ISSN 1029 - 2756
Orenstein & Koppel locomotive no 12691 of 1936 vintage - formerly at SANRASM in Krugersdorp - was steamtested by Sandstone Heritage’s Lukas Nel in Bloemfontein, November 2014. Photo: Sandstone
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Issue 5 // 2014 Railways Africa
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Contents Cover Story Developments in heavy haul
6 Features Zimbabwe’s derailed railway
15
Bright idea from ERB
23
Innovative end-of-track solution
24
Mishaps
26
20 Africa Update 32
This railway is 98 years old
12
Chinese labour protest
12
Eastern line open soon
12
SA Rail News 24
BBQ Award for CEO Gama
19
Transport unions re-named after merger
20
12
Mishaps Passing trains sandwich truck at crossing
26
Derailed Russian train in water
26
End of the Line Toward the end of the day
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Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014
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Heavy Haul
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN SA HEAVY HAUL
The iron ore line remains a major revenue earner for Transnet.
It is an interesting time for heavy haul in South Africa. The capacity of both existing lines is being increased, and the conventional railway from the Waterberg is being upgraded to heavy haul standards - as is that from Hotazel to Ngqura. There has been some discussion about applying heavy haultechniques to certain South African general freight lines, by increasing axle loads and raising train speeds. And then, South Africa has formed its own heavy haul association.
Local heavy haul association launch The recent launch of the South African Heavy Haul Association (SAHHA) evidenced significant local interest in the concept. Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), Transnet Engineering (TE), the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Railways and Harbours Division), the South African Society of Railway Engineers, the University of Pretoria (Chair in Railway Engineering) and the University of the Witwatersrand joined forces to found this new organisation. “The aim of the new body is to pursue excellence in heavy haul railway engineering, technology, operations and maintenance in South Africa,” TFR executive manager and SAHHA chairman Brian Monakali explains. “It will do this by furthering knowledge in this field by organising
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Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014
regional conferences, events, workshops, networking opportunities and other similar initiatives.” South Africa is a member of the well-established International Heavy Haul Association (IHHA). IHHA, a worldwide nongovernmental body, is dedicated to the improvement of heavy haul railway operation, maintenance and technology. The establishment of the South African heavy haul forum will ensure that the technical knowledge and case studies shared at IHHA level are disseminated locally. In the same way, technical advancements originating from South Africa will be made known internationally. Monakali announced that South Africa is likely to host the International Heavy Haul Conference in 2019. In view of this, the 2018 IHHA board meeting is to be held in South Africa. Technical workshops will be held at the same time. Speaking at the SAHHA welcoming banquet, TE general manager, strategy and marketing Thoba Majoka said: “Through this conference Transnet is working towards regional economic development in line with the government’s National Development Plan to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030.” The board meeting is intended to demonstrate the readiness of South Africa to host the IHHA Conference in 2019.
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Heavy haul More iron ore
Increased coal volumes through Richards Bay
As far as the iron ore heavy haul line is concerned, the Khumani and Kolomela mines, which started exporting ore in 2008 and 2012 respectively, have stretched the capacity of the existing facility. With emerging and junior miners now starting to produce ore, the need to increase throughput has become urgent. Accordingly the capacity of the 853km Sishen-Saldanha line is to be increased from its current 62 million tons per annum (mtpa) to 72mtpa by 2019. At the same time, Transnet emphasises the importance of retaining the competitiveness of South Africa’s iron ore export channel.
Transnet has plans to increase the capacity of the existing coal line, and also to convert the line from the Waterberg to Ermelo to heavy haul standard. In addition, Transnet Freight Rail CE Siyabonga Gama states that a new line is to be constructed from Lephalale to the Mmamabula coalfields in Botswana in the foreseeable future.
Currently 38 trains a week, each 3.8km in length, carry ore to Saldanha. Some 50% longer than their predecessors, these lengthy consists have been phased in since July 2008, when Radio Distributed Power (RDP) control systems were fitted to the locomotives – 50kV AC class 9E electrics and class 34 dieselelectrics. RDP technology is also being fitted to the new class 15E locomotives which are phasing out the 9E and 34 fleet. The upgrade of the Sishen line to 72mtpa will require additional infrastructure investment. At present, the port of Saldanha can handle 58mtpa and will need more equipment, most notably a third tippler. A Transnet spokesman has explained that while the capacity study has not yet been completed, indications are that the preferred option to increase tonnage would be to run an increased number of trains, to be achieved through improved efficiencies and increased rolling stock.
The Ermelo to Richards Bay line will have its capacity increased beyond the 81mtpa it hopes to carry by 2015. It is TFR’s intention, he says, to take the capacity of the line to 97mtpa. During the remainder of the Market Demand Strategy (MDS) period, it is expected that R45.5 billion will be allocated to expansion and sustaining capital for the coal line. The expansion involves upgrading yards, lines and electrical equipment and additional wagons have been ordered to serve this line. A constraint on the coal line for many years, the single-track Overvaal Tunnel is to be doubled by 2018, according to Gama.
The Swazi link When the R17 billion Swazi link from Lothair to Sidvokodvo becomes operational, the capacity of the coal line could be as high as 110mtpa, Gama asserts. The aim, he explains, is to create a stopgap so that TFR can move some of the general freight that currently runs on the coal line on to the Swazi link. The latter will be dedicated to general freight but if Transnet experiences derailments or other incidents on the coal line, the Swazi link will become an alternative route for export coal. It is envisaged that it would be possible to run 150-wagon trains on this route. The opening of the link will open up 12 new train slots a day on the coal line.
An excellent turnout of delegates at the inaugural SAHHA conference.
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Issue 5 // 2014 Railways Africa
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Heavy haul Waterberg coal for the future The plan for the Waterberg line, which currently carries two million tons per annum, has been divided into five stages, according to an Exxaro presentation. In the first, it was planned to use headend traction to run one 100-wagon train daily and to extend the Matlabas loop to accommodate the longer consists. In Phase 2, three 100-wagon trains will run daily, raising the capacity of the line to 6.3mtpa. In Phases 3 to 5, following the provision of a loop to accommodate 200-wagon trains at Boshoek, the line will be converted to full heavy haul operation. This would see 200-wagon trains running under distributed power, increasing in number from three to six until in 2018, the line will carrying 24mtpa. Currently, a feasibility study is being conducted for a new route for a heavy haul line from Ermelo to Lephalale that would bypass Ogies and Pyramid.
Manganese Expansion to 16mtpa Transnet received approval in May 2014 for an investment of R26.6 billion to support a 16mtpa expansion of manganese export capacity from the Northern Cape through a new bulk terminal in the Port of Ngqura by February 2019.
TFR executive manager and SAHHA chairman Brian Monakali.
Specifically, the rail scope of the programme will include the upgrade and expansion of the 1,100 kilometer rail network between the Northern Cape and Coega and the provision of new dual voltage
Tunnel 14 at the end of the Mfolozi viaduct on the coal line
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Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014
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heavy haul locomotives as well as new wagons. The port scope includes the provision and equipping of a new, modern bulk minerals export terminal in the Port of Ngqura as well as the commissioning of two existing berths, C100 and C101. The rail programme has been divided into two phases, with phase 1 involving the partial doubling of the rail section between Kimberley and De Aar as well the extension of the Rosmead crossing loop. Execution planning of the rail phase 2 infrastructure upgrade and the port construction programmes is under way. The rail operations will see the introduction of the longest general freight train, namely a 20 ton per axle, 200 wagon, distributed power train. The heavy haul operating principles adopted for the
new system were made possible by various new rail technologies, such as radio distributed power that was deployed successfully on the heavy haul iron ore export line. The recently commissioned dual voltage AC/DC electric locomotives overcome the network constraint where the 343 km section from Hotazel and Kimberley is on 3kV DC and the remaining 760 km from Kimberley to Ngqura on the more modern 25kV AC network. The project aims to sustainably strengthen South Africa’s position as the leading exporter of high-grade manganese ore, and will, through the construction programme, stimulate job creation in South Africa by delivering an expected 18,500 direct and 14,000 indirect job opportunities.
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) CEO Siyabonga Gama and Nu-Skotland Farmers’ Association president Jaap Naude sign an MoU in respect of a new more environmentally friendly alternative route from Lothair to the Swazi border. This followed lengthy negotiations between the farmers in the Lothair region and TFR. The intention to go ahead with the Swazi link was formalised by an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the respective governments on 2 August 2012. Shortly after this, an inter-rail MoU was signed between TFR and Swaziland Railways on 22 November 2012. The key objectives of this project, which is at feasibility stage, are the promotion of inter-regionalism and linking the region’s ports to the hinterland through rail. As part of the Transnet Market Demand Strategy, the intention is to create a general freight corridor through the Eastern Seaboard to strengthen supply chains. The 146km Swazi link will carry some 43 million tons of freight which otherwise would have clogged the coal line. The opening of this costeffective option will open up 12 train slots and reduce the costs of logistics in the long run, Gama explains.
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Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014
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AFRICA UPDATE
AFRICA UPDATE TUG-OF-WAR, CHESS & MORE AT THE SARSCO GAMES General manager in Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR) chief executive’s office Cleopatra Shiceka was recently able to announce that the Southern African Railway Association (Sarsco) Games, inactive for some years, had been revived. This year the South African Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) hosted the games on 7 and 8 November at the University of Pretoria Sports centre. Participants from TFR, the RSR, Botswana Railways and Swazi Rail vied for top honours in soccer, netball, volleyball, athletics, morabaraba, tennis, tug- of- war and chess. RSR chairman Thembelihle Msibi spoke at the farewell dinner and prizegiving ceremony on 8 November.
ALSTOM IN AFRICA The volume of Alstom’s business with the Middle East and Africa is growing steadily. Revenue here now makes up about a fifth of the group’s global income. Customers for the newly-built plant in Nigeria are said to represent twelve countries in Africa and orders for rolling stock and signalling have been received from Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. Company officials are quoted saying that Alstom would like to become involved in the rail sectors of both Mozambique and Angola. The aim eventually is to have a presence in every country on the continent.
ANGOLA
ALGERIA
BOTSWANA
METRO FOR ORAN Oran, the second city in Algeria after the capital Algiers, is to get a metro. It is expected that tenders for the first phase will be invited early in 2015. This will comprise the construction of a depot and a line from Hai Essabah to Bouakeul. The complete 19km route envisaged is to have 20 stations including Bouakeul, the Great Market, Palais des Sports, the main railway station (including interchange with Oran’s existing 18km light rail line), Wilaya, Hai Essabah, the Olympic stadium and the university. There is to be a branch from Wilaya to the city centre. It is hoped to have trains running by 2020. In due course, a second metro line is on the cards, as well as a second light rail route (Oran’s first LRT opened in 2013).
Zenza
Luanda
ANGOLA
Camacupa Lobito Caaia Benguela Kuito Huambo Cubal Lubango Namibe
Dongo Chiange
Angola’s southern Cunene province governor António Didalelwa recently confirmed that a branch of Caminhos de ferro de Moçamedes (CFM) is to be extended “in the medium term”, to Onjdiva and Namacunde in Cunene Province, immediately south of which it will link with the railways of Namibia at Oshikango. New construction of over 300km will be involved. According to Didalelwa, the route is identified in the provincial development plan for Cunene, with an estimated price tag of $US5.4 billion.
WALVIS BAY DRY PORT FOR BOTSWANA RAILWAYS
A dry port covering some 36,200m2 at Walvis Bay in Namibia has been inaugurated by Botswana Railways at a cost of $US6 million. Services to be offered include cartage, container handling, stacking, a break-bulk terminal, a general purpose warehouse and an emptycontainer park. The facility will assist Botswana in moving its cargo through the Namibian Ports Authority and “will help increase the volumes carried on the [Namibia-Zambia] corridor and boost trade relations within the Southern African Development Community”.
DRC
Malanje
Dondo ATLANTIC
ANGOLA-NAMIBIA LINK
Luau
Luena
Dilolo Jimbe
To Chingola
Menongue Chamutete (Cassinga)
Km 300
ZAMBIA
Oshikango Ondangwa
NAMIBIA Tsumeb
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BOTSWANA
Grindrod RL30 diesel-electric under construction at the Pretoria works a 3 000hp winner. Photo: John Batwell.
Issue 5 // 2014 Railways Africa
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AFRICA UPDATE ETHIOPIA
KENYA
THIS RAILWAY IS 98 YEARS OLD
CHINESE LABOUR PROTEST
An article by Girma Feyissa in Addis Fortune, published in Addis Ababa, recalls that Ethiopia’s railway to Djibouti is two years from celebrating its centenary. She was a teenager when she first rode on the metre-gauge line, during the time it was still steam-operated. A small card “about one inch and a half square” served as her ticket. The imposing station in Addis Ababa looked like those in Europe and was known (as in France) as “Le Gare”. The third class coaches were fitted with perforated steel benches. “Children could be hidden under benches to travel free.” Passengers on her first train ride included members of the Kagnew Battalion, on their way to the port at Djibouti where they were to sail for Korea to serve in the United Nations Security Council Mission.
Low-interest Chinese loans are enabling African countries to push ahead with railway construction, but not every community is happy with the way things are turning out. There have been protests in Kenya – even some of the highway-blocking, burning tyre variety – about the large numbers of Chinese employed in constructing the new standard gauge line from Mombasa to Nairobi. A figure of 30,000 for the total workforce has been mentioned. In midNovember it was announced that the Chinese component in this is to be restricted to 2,500. However, one August 2014 press story spoke of 5,000 Chinese workers already “on their way”.
MALI CHINESE COMPANIES RAILWAYS
TO
DEVELOP
MALI
More clarity has emerged concerning the intended development of railways in Mali with Chinese help. Two separate projects are envisaged. One involves upgrading the existing metre-gauge line from Dakar in Sénégal to Bamako in Mali. The other is to be an entirely new standard gauge line into Mali from the port of Conakry in Guinea. A figure of $US8 billion has been mentioned in this case, for a route length of about 920km. China Railway Engineering Corporation is the likely contractor. Meanwhile China Railway Construction Corporation is to rehabilitate the existing 1,230km railway from Dakar for $US1.5 billion. The main objectives are to exploit and move iron ore and bauxite from mining sites some 200km west of Bamako. The station at Addis Ababa. Photo: Dietmar Fiedel
At Awash, about midway between Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa, which served as a refreshment stop, a train travelling to the coast would wait for one coming the other way. Dire Dawa was reached after dark at about 8pm in the evening. Feyissa hopes the current reconstruction of the 750km line to standard gauge will be completed as promised in 2015 – in time for the centenary celebrations.
BIG SIGNALLING CONTRACT Bombardier Transportation is to provide signalling for Ethiopia’s new 400km Awash-Weldia line. Turkish construction company Yapi Merkezi, which is undertaking the design and construction of the project, awarded the contract - worth approximately $US45 million. Bombardier is to install its Interflo 250 system, based on the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). Bombardier’s advanced rail control installations in Africa include Gautrain and the main-lines into Durban. Zambia is to install Bombardier systems between Livingstone and Chingola and Morocco is a customer for its Casablanca to Tangiers line. Bombardier is currently providing Algeria with its first ERTMS and advanced interlocking technology.
EGYPT NEW TRAINSETS FOR EGYPTIAN RAILWAYS Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Philip ter Woort explained to the Daily News in Cairo that a loan for the Egyptian National Railways amounting to $US159 million is to finance the acquisition of six new trainsets. This is in terms of a new “supply and maintenance” structure, with the supplier of the trains remaining responsible for maintenance over a minimum period. The locomotives and trains financed by EBRD are intended for use between Cairo and Alexandria, where capacity is strained and passenger services are currently overcrowded.
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Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014
NIGERIA ABUJA-KADUNA TRAINS BY DECEMBER The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Transport recently restated its commitment to finish construction of the new standard gauge railway from the capital Abuja to Kaduna before the end of 2014, but it will not be possible to run trains until two locomotives ordered late in 2014 become available. Nothing has been said about other rolling stock.
EASTERN LINE OPEN SOON In the course of a recent tour of inspection from Port Harcourt by Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, managing director Adesiyi Sijuwade was quoted saying “all hands are on deck to ensure that train services from Port Harcourt to Makurdi (480km) will be running by December”. Port Harcourt mass transit commuter trains would run daily in due course from Diobu to Elelewon, Trans-Amadi and Imo River. Eventually he said services would be extended to Maiduguri, “when the insurgency stops”. Railway district manager Donatus Ogbodo reported that a “first batch” of eight passenger coaches has been restored to serviceable condition. •
Rehabilitation of Nigeria’s 1,124km western line from Lagos to Kano was completed in December 2012. All these lines use 1,067mm gauge.
NIGERIAN STANDARD GAUGE STUDIES Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council approved expenditure of N1.3 billion (about $US8 million) some time ago for standard gauge railway feasibility studies covering some 4,430km.
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AFRICA Update Africa UPDATE
NIAMEY Dosso
The routes envisaged as listed in the press are: • Kano-Dai-Jimbia (354km); • Ilela-Sokoto-Jega-Kontagora (408km); • Aba-Ikot Ekpene- Itu-Uyo-Uduopkani-Calabar (340km); • Kano-Nguru-Geshua-Damaturu-Maiduguri-Gamburu Ngala (707km); • Calabar- Ikom-Obudu-Ogoja-Katsina Ala-Wukari-Jalingo-YolaMaiduguri (1,669km); and • Port Harcourt-Aba- Umuahia- Enugu-Lafia- Jos- Bauchi- BiuMaiduguri (550km). The work entails an environmental impact assessment and the identifying of stations, workshops and other base infrastructure along the routes, including engineering design, the bill of engineering measurement and the tender document for the award of construction contracts in due course.
disembarked at Nakonde, they are required to board a second train for the Zambian leg of the journey, departing on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Though extremely precise times are shown in the new timetable (eg 13:37, 22:49), timekeeping along the length of the line is poor, not infrequently due to derailments. Generous allowance is made for changing trains at Nakonde, but if the arriving train is on schedule, though travellers face a wait as long as seven hours. Kapiri Mposhi Nakonde
16:00 08:41
Tues Wed
? 09:48
Fri Sat
Nakonde Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam Nakonde
13:15
Wed
16:46
Sat
15:23
Thur
22:49
Sun
10:10 12:45
Tue Wed
10:30 16:16
Fri Sat
Nakonde Kapiri Mposhi
18:00 10:39
Wed Thur
18:37 13:37
Sat Sun
UGANDA PRESIDENTIAL LAUNCH FOR EAST AFRICAN STANDERD GAUGE At a recent function in the Ugandan capital Kampala, construction of the new standard gauge line from Malaba was officially launched by the presidents of Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan. The occasion coincided with the seventh summit of the heads of state of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects. Ugandan President Museveni said that there will be much better transport and cheaper electricity. Rwandan President Kagame urged everyone involved “to keep up the momentum to enable the process of regional integration.” The new line is expected to reduce Mombasa to Kampala goods journey times to two days, by enabling speeds of 120km/h. It is hoped to have the line to Kampala operational by 2018.
UGANDAN RAIL BUILDING STALEMATE
TAZARA
The president and various Ugandan government ministers and officials have seemingly tied themselves in knots over their extensive proposed railway building schemes. Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were apparently signed with three different Chinese construction firms at different times by different people, one of which has already landed in court. There are disputes over the building of two new 1,435mm gauge railways. One is to run from the Kenya border through Uganda into Rwanda with a connection to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The other is planned through Gulu into South Sudan.
TAZARA’S JOINT OWNERSHIP RUNS INTO TROUBLE The Chinese-built and financed “Uhuru” railway from Zambia to Dar es Salaam is owned jointly by the governments of Zambia and Tanzania. There have been problems since the line was opened in 1976, largely to do with finance, while rolling stock and infrastructure maintenance have remained a perpetual headache. Now however operational difficulties have brought matters to a head. Each country is now running its own passenger trains separately.
PASSENGER TRAINS U-TURN AT BORDER There are no longer through-passenger trains between Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia and Dar es Salaam on the coast of Tanzania. Trains from either terminal now turn round at Nakonde, the border between the two countries. Within Tanzania, trains depart from Dar es Salaam on Tuesdays and Fridays. After passengers have
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Haggai Matsiko, writing in The Independent (published in Kampala) comments: “The latest wave of investigations mean that the railway project whose deadline is March 2018 could delay for several more years as funders like the World Bank, African Development Bank and even the Exim Bank [of China] will hesitate to associate with a project clothed in controversy. Sources inside the oil sector said they urgently need this infrastructure to transport more than 800,000 metric tonnes of equipment that they will need for oil production in Uganda.”
ZAMBIA ZAMBIAN INTER-MINE RLY TO BE UPGRADED Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) says about $US50 million would be needed to revamp the rail network which links the mines in the
Issue 5 // 2014 Railways Africa
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AFRICA UPDATE BULAWAYO-BEITBRIDGE TRAIN SUSPENDED During infrastructure upgrading between Esigodini and Mbalabala on the Bulawayo-Beitbridge line recently, passenger train service from Bulawayo was suspended for approximately six weeks to accommodate the work.
NRZ EMPLOYEES DEMONSTRATE Employees of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) staged protests recently in Bulawayo, Gweru and Mutare. They said this was the beginning of “a wave of demonstrations around the country” to draw attention to their unpaid wages in the last ten months. The police in Harare reportedly tore up placards and confiscated banners.
NRZ FAILS TO LURE INVESTORS
copperbelt. Reconstruction of the 1.6km inter-mine line between the Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) Nkana plant in Kitwe and the underground quarry in Mufulira was expected to begin before the end of 2014 at an estimated cost of $4 million. According to ZRL acting general manager Fred Kaoma, the rehabilitated line will allow Mopani to haul at least 18,000 tonnes of copper concentrates and 15,000 tonnes of cathodes per month.
NRZ 1609 (class DE6) at Bulawayo. Transnet class 36 behind. Photo: Trevor Staats
LIVINGSTONE-CHINGOLA EXPRESS
Endeavours by the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) to secure investors to help revive its flagging operations have not been conspicuously successful to date. Permanent secretary in the ministry of transport and infrastructural development Munesu Munodawafa, appearing before the parliamentary public accounts committee together with NRZ management , explained the difficult DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO circumstances. Freight volumes carried by the railway, he pointed out, fell from 9.6 million tonnes in 2000 to 3.71 million tonnes in Luau Kolwezi Dilolo Lubumbashi 2013. The break-even point is about 5 million tonnes. Potential Proposed investors looking for profits are not impressed by a company North-Western Railway ANGOLA Chingola Ndola with this sort of performance. “The railway has been studied by Kitwe Luanshya Mchinji Chipata a number of companies, particularly from the Eastern bloc, but LILONGWE Kapiri Mposhi the major challenge that is there and why we have not moved is Kabwe the aspect of the level of business because obviously any investor ZAMBIA would want a return,” Munodawafa said.“More than $US1 billion MOZAMBIQUE Mulobezi LUSAKA is needed to completely overhaul NRZ infrastructure. The railway Kafue Cabora Bassa Mazabuka Tete myriad challenges that have resulted in the parastatal is facing Senanga Monze Kariba Dam accruing arrears of at least $US52 million in statutory obligations, Choma including an equivalent of nine months’ pay to employees.” ZIMBABWE Lake
MALAWI
An express passenger train service which last ran some twenty years ago has been reintroduced between Livingstone and Chingola. Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) reportedly spent $US14 million on 30 new coaches acquired from South Africa. Business, economy and standard class facilities are provided on the train.
Kazungula
IA
NAMIB
CAPRIVI STRIP
BOTSWANA
Kariba
HARARE
Livingstone
Marondera • NRZ is not the only state institution short of funds, the Herald (published in
Hwange
Okavango Delta
Kwekwe Gweru
Harare) observed in a report printed adjacent to the railway story. “Inmates in Mutare Odzi
Zimbabwe’s Prison and Correctional Services facilities are forced to stay naked to Beira owing to inadequate supply of uniforms.”
ZIMBABWE NRZ MAKES $10.8 MILLION OUT OF SCRAP The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), desperately short of funds to maintain infrastructure and rolling stock, has managed to raise $US10.8 million through selling 30,000 tons of scrap metal. Acting general manager Lewis Mukwada reported this recently to the country’s parliamentary portfolio committee on transport and infrastructure to illustrate the parastatal‘s “dire need of funding”. Emphasising this was a short-term, stop-gap measure in an effort to remain afloat, he confirmed that $55 million is owed to NRZ employees in arrear wages.
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Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014
National Railways of Zimbabwe class 15 Garratt crossing a GM-built class DE11A unit on the Victoria Falls line. Photo: Geoff Cooke.
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Zimbabwe Railway
ZIMBABWE’S DERAILED RAILWAY Report by John Batwell Early in July, a number of tourists from overseas were injured and one foreign visitor subsequently died after a tram - capable of carrying 30 tourists - was hit from behind by a National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) diesel-hauled freight train at Victoria Falls station. The tram had just started on a late-afternoon visit to the bridge. The injured were rushed to local health facilities, two being relocated to South Africa. The incident had an obviously negative impact on the country’s tourism industry, the Victoria Falls being an important drawcard.
A NRZ class DE10A locomotive on a fuel train at Victoria Falls station these locos are over thirty years old. Photo: D. Ives
During the last week-end in June, two NRZ passenger trains derailed along the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo line, fortunately with no fatalities. The first incident occurred at Igusi and the second near Gwayi River the following day. On 23 August, eight saloons on the overnight Bulawayo-Harare train derailed at Heany Junction, 33km into its journey, injuring 22 passengers. The Railway Association of Enginemen (RAE), a union representing the country’s train drivers, warns that the rail network has become “a death trap” - dangerous for both train staff and passengers due to frequent derailments. Many more derailments occur than are reported in the media, despite speed limits under 40km/h in sections between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. RAE vice-president Juniel Manyere says the dilapidated rail infrastructure is a stumbling block to the country’s economic revival and urges the government to act decisively through the necessary rehabilitation. Newly-appointed NRZ board chairman Alvord Mabena, formerly a general manager of the system, has even suggested suspension of all passenger train operations, saying it is risky to travel by train. Infrastructure ruined through vandalism includes the loss of colourlight signalling. Loco crews rely on cellphones for communication, according to recent media reports. The 307km electrified railway between Dabuka and Harare reverted to diesel operation some years ago as the overhead catenary had been stolen.
What investors need Investors require the revival of rail infrastructure - pivotal to the country’s economic turnaround programme - for the efficient movement of goods. Experts view privatisation as the only way
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the NRZ can be revitalised, with the government facing a myriad of challenges related to liquidity constraints. In early July 2014, when officials tendered oral evidence to the parliamentary portfolio committee on transport, it emerged that $10 billion is urgently needed for recapitalisation and to offset $144 million owed to service providers and employees. Acting general manager Lewis Mukwada told the committee that dilapidated infrastructure, undercapitalisation and competition from road transport had devastated the company.
Passenger rolling stock is in dire need of replacement on the NRZ.
Mukwada said NRZ was operating at a loss of about $4 million per month, with the company’s wage bill consuming 69% of total revenue. He said the 6,000-strong workforce is owed $36 million in salary arrears, which is being settled in 50% tranches. Mukwada said cash is desperately needed to refurbish wagons and related infrastructure. The system is currently moving a mere 297,000 tonnes a month. In the short term, $400 million is needed for about three years to kick-start “normal” operations. The committee heard that NRZ is owed “millions of dollars” by other parastatals such as the Grain Marketing Board, Zimbabwe Power Company and Ziscosteel.
No dividend from BBR NRZ is not benefiting from its 15% stake in the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Railway (BBR) which has paid no dividend since 2006 and expects to break even at the end of the current year. The acting GM said government had stopped availing funding to NRZ, exacerbating the situation. He called on Parliament to ensure that the 1997 Railway Amendment Act - which sought to transfer the responsibility to maintain the rail infrastructure to government - was revived. NRZ requires $US50 million to relay the economically-crucial line from Bulawayo to the Zambian border.
DBSA loan NRZ – reportedly operating at less than 55% capacity – is currently negotiating with the Development Bank of South Africa for a substantial loan to help finance recapitalisation. A number of considerations that complicate finalisation are being studied.
Strikes Protracted employees’ strike action this year did not bode well for
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Zimbabwe Railway
Grindrod locomotives, such as the RL30SCC-3 type, are operational on the Beitbridge-Bulawayo concessioned railway. Photo: S. Jesser
any kind of investor interest. During the first week-end of August, employees turned out to demonstrate in the country’s principal centres over the issue of outstanding salaries. It was stated at mid-year that NRZ had raised just short of $11 million selling scrap metal as a stop-gap measure - part of its efforts to remain afloat. NRZ was moving volumes of 3.7 million tonnes per annum instead of five million tonnes needed to break even.
BBR operation Operation of the 317km build, operate and transfer (BOT) Beitbridge-Bulawayo Railway (BBR) was taken over recently by South African integrated logistics service provider Grindrod, which has acquired an 86% stake in the line through its subsidiary New Limpopo Project Investments (NPLI). To date, it has put in $2 million towards refurbishment of diesel locomotives in Bulawayo. Other NLPI shareholders include South African companies Nedbank, Old
Tourist operators still continue to support the country’s tourism with trains often hauled by Garratt steam locomotives.
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Zimbabwe railway “Grindrod is keen to participate.” Olivier noted that Grindrod plans to invest in Mozambique and Zimbabwe as well as Zambia, the continent’s second-largest producer of copper. The latest indications from Grindrod come at a time when calls are being made by various stakeholders for government to take drastic action in an effort to save Zimbabwe’s rail transport system from extinction.
President’s China visit During President Robert Mugabe’s state visit to the far east in August, Zimbabwe and China apparently signed no less than nine solid landmark mega-agreements that are to provide financial support for the muchneeded economic enablers in critical sectors that include energy, telecommunications, agriculture, tourism, roads and railways.
The uninviting interior of an upper class passenger cabin.
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Mutual, Sanlam and New Limpopo Bridge Projects – an investment company controlled by Israeli citizens Mordechai Tager and Zion Elani. Grindrod Locomotives Division is providing the motive power to operate export/import traffic between Beitbridge and Victoria Falls. In late August, Grindrod chief executive Alan Olivier said his company was more than ready to invest in the southern African region. “We are looking at big projects, very capital-intensive projects in neighbouring countries,” he was quoted saying.
An interesting feature out of an economically diabolical year has been NRZ’s Leisure Rail Marketing division putting together a series of highly successful, well-patronised vintage steam day-runs out of both Harare and Bulawayo. Furthermore, the ever-faithful UK-based tour operator, Geoff’s Trains, will return to the country with a miscellany of overseas steam buffs during 2015. The Bulawayo steam shed staff and operational crews always rise to the occasion, setting in motion a replay of yesteryear rail heritage, often despite the most difficult odds. The long-established South African tour operation, Rovos Rail, continues to take its luxuriously-appointed trainsets over NRZ lines to the famous Victoria Falls and beyond, to the East African coast at Dar es Salaam.
Keeping air FLOWing eFFicientLy
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PO Box 51063, Wierda Park, 0149, South Africa
Email: sales@vanrail.co.za
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2013/09/19 12:39 PM
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THE CRITICAL LINK IN THE HEAVY HAUL WORLD. Last year, the nearly 3 million freight cars ® products delivered unmatched reliability and performance across billions of ton-miles Where else in the world can you find a track record like that?
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SA RAIL NEWS
SOUTH AFRICAN
RAIL NEWS SIX MONTHS’ TRANSNET REVENUE = R30BN Transnet is not holding back on its ambitious investment outlay and the R312 billion Market Demand Strategy (MDS), notwithstanding the economic downturn. The global price for a ton of iron ore declined by $US20 over the past 12 months, to the current $82. Thermal coal realised $80 a ton a year ago; it stands now at $67.
Volumes railed on the coal line to Richards Bay increased 4.3% to 43.7 million tons during the six-month period. Transnet says it expects to move 74.2 million tons during the year as a whole, equivalent to a year-on-year increase of 9%. Iron-ore volumes – targeted at 57.1 million tons over the complete year - rose 3% to 27.9 million tons in the six months to September. Capital projects were not stinted: R18.7 billion was spent on these.
Despite this nominally gloomy picture, Transnet did not do badly over the past six months. Overall freight traffic volumes rose 4.4% to 110.5 million tons. (On the other hand, port container volumes dropped 4% to 2.3 million TEUs). Revenue went up 6.4% to R30.3 billion, attributed largely to good performance in the container and automotive sectors (up 14.3%). Net profit (R2.14 billion) was down 25% due to finance and depreciation charges – and the cost of retiring 26 old locomotives added to this.
BBQ AWARD FOR TFR CEO GAMA From a Transnet Freight Rail Media Release: Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siyabonga Gama scooped top honours at the Black Business Quarterly (Awards) BBQ on 31 October 2014. “Following a gruelling adjudication process, Mr Gama scooped the Public Sector Visionary Award.
Rail Welding
The single use crucible
The single-use crucible reduces the risk of human error. It is made from a bonded refractory material inserted in an easy-to-handle five-litre container. Welds are more consistent. As there is no drying or pre-heating, weld times are much shorter. And the single use crucible is safer and minimises environmental impacts. Thermitrex (Pty) Ltd Tel: +27 (0)11 914 2540 Fax: +27 (0)11 914 2547 Email: clloyd@thermitrex.co.za Website: www.thermitrex.co.za
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CD323_therm_adv.indd 1
PO Box 6070, Dunswart, Johannesburg, Gauteng South Africa 1508
Issue 5 // 2014 Railways 2007/10/24 Africa 09:52:34 AM 19
SA RAIL NEWS Siyabonga Gama
R5.1 billion for the 2013/2014 financial year. The criteria which Gama satisfied are:
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Demonstrated commitment to the advancement of excellence within the public sector.
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Furthering the interests of South Africans through innovation, creativity and integrity.
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His proven record of achievement and involvement, leadership, perseverance and endurance.
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Self-evidently inspires and encourages others to strive for excellence.
Previous Achievements:
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National Business Leader of the year in 2008. BBQ Young Business Leader of the year 2004. Finalist BBQ Public Sector Visionary Achiever Award 2012.
Transnet Freight Rail Achievements under Mr Gama’s leadership: The Motlekar Holdings BBQ Awards, South Africa’s most prestigious and longest running black business awards ceremony, have for the past 12 years celebrated and recognised champions of transformation. The Awards encourage and promote sustainable black business through the recognition of leadership and achievement. Gama receives this award as a testament to his astute business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit. In addition to providing an environment conducive for black owned and managed businesses to thrive, he has transformed TFR, a company which used to report yearly losses averaging R21 million in 1995 to reporting a profit of
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TFR was named Best African Rail Operator in both 2011 and 2012 at the annual Africa Rail conference.
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The company won a gold award for logistics excellence in dynamic scheduling optimisation (2012).
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International awards for the Blue Train.
TRANSPORT UNIONS RENAMED AFTER MERGER The 30 October launch of South Africa’s United National Transport Union (Untu) followed the significant 2012 merger of two prominent, mainly rail-related unions - the South African Railway and Harbour
Wheelset for a class 20E dual-voltage electric locomotive under assembly at Transnet Engineering’s Koedoespoort plant. A recent photo by John Batwell
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Workers Union (Sarhwu) and the United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu). The recent event was effectively a renaming. According to Untu general-secretary Steve Harris, the combined body represents the majority of unionised employees in most Transnet subsidiaries and is the only union at Bombardier (in South Africa) as well as Bombela [the Gautrain operating company] and Mega Express [the Gautrain bus system].
MOLEFE DEFENDS TRANSNET LOCO PURCHASES After 1994, there was a prolonged “dry period” during which no new Transnet motive power was acquired until well into the new century. In general terms, the railway coped with what it had, but the fleet was ageing, and matters became increasing difficult. It is never easy catching up with a backlog and though some new locos came in during the recent past, by 2014 a growing shortfall in motive power was being felt in several places. This year, 26 existing locos were withdrawn from service. In March 2014, orders worth R50 billion were signed for the supply of 599 new electric and 465 diesel locomotives. However, although about 100 may enter service during 2015, the rest will not be arriving until 2016 and later, with the last expected only in 2019. In consequence of this, 34 second-hand diesel locomotives have been acquired from Australia and motive power has been leased locally from Grindrod. Both moves were unprecedented, the action being explained by Transnet CEO Brian Molefe as a stop-gap measure. Union criticism of the large orders placed abroad has been dismissed by Molefe. He emphasises that some 70 units only will be manufactured overseas; the rest are to be assembled in South Africa. Transnet says it paid between A$180,000 and $230,000 each for the Australian locos, depending on condition. They are to be based on Bloemfontein and used on general freight.
GIBELA TRAIN MANUFACTURING FACILITY Dunnottar, about 11km south of Springs in Gauteng, is the location chosen for the Gibela consortium’s new 600,000m2 rolling stock manufacturing plant. Construction is to begin in mid-2015. The facility’s specific purpose is to be the manufacture of multipleunit electric suburban passenger coaches for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa). The schedule calls for 62 trainsets to be completed annually, the total order being 580. Building is expected to start by July 2016. Five satellite maintenance depots will provide fault-finding support, monitoring and control, planning of material requirement, and reliability engineers in Durban, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Braamfontein and Wolmerton. Repair centres are to be set up in Durban and Salt River (Cape Town).
EAST LONDON ELECTRIFICATION It is reported that the only electric working to and from East London today is the daily passenger train to and from Johannesburg (still unofficially known as the Amatola). Class 34 diesels handle freight traffic and diesels also operate the East London suburban commuter service, formerly electrically worked. The main-line was electrified at 25kV AC in 1988 as far as Springfontein (472km) but the remaining 141km to Bloemfontein – though planned – was
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SA RAIL NEWS
FREE STATE ROUND-UP Recent photos by Jacque Wepener.
Pedestrian traffic at Friedesheim, waiting patiently for loco 34 499 (heading the return working of the Bothaville pick-up) to clear the crossing as it sets back from the timber siding.
Important freight on the OFS main-line: a beer wagon
Kroonstad-bound from Wesselsbron and Losdorings, this block load of mealies – seen climbing out of Odendaalsrus towards Friedesheim - was having engine trouble. (Driver to photographer in sign language: “I could do with a push from the rear”.)
Empties trundling past the station at Welkom behind Grindrod’s 1762, returning from the exchange yard with Harmony surface rail and heading either to old Frieddes 1 or 5 Shaft to load waste rock or reef (ore).
Hungarian-built Ganz electric multiple unit sets ex Wellington, New Zealand, staged at Welkom awaiting overhaul – reportedly for redeployment in Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
LED SIGnals
Bright Idea from ERB ERB Technologies’ latest offering to the rail signalling industry is literally a bright idea. Its evoLIGHT replaces less-reliable incandescent lamps used in conventional signalling applications and replaces them with dependable, long-lasting, high-luminance LED (light emitting diode) units. The primary advantage of the new ERB LED signal lamp is that it has a much longer lifespan than the incandescent type. The ERB product is highly cost-competitive and is locally manufactured in its entirety at the company’s premises in Midrand. Also, LED lamps generally use less power. The LLU-A12 light unit has a nominal operating voltage of 11 Vac and a current consumption at this voltage of 174mA. “Signalling interlocking system lamps have some unique requirements. Otherwise one could buy a bulb from the local hardware store,” explains ERB managing director Andre Sullivan. Significant advantages of the ERB lamp are the considerable savings on replacements and on labour. While the purchase price of an LED light bulb might be higher, the life-cycle cost is much lower.
Lowest life-cycle cost
“You don’t have to be sending people out to replace burned out lamps nearly so often,” Sullivan points out. Considering that South Africa has 20,000km of rail network and a great many signals, this is a pertinent factor. Another advantage of the LLU-A12 light unit is that it can be retrofitted easily to existing signal lamp housings. And the ERB lamp is available with various bracket options to fit all signal lamp housings. The product can be ordered pre-fitted in a housing. “With other products, one has to replace the complete housing whereas with the ERB product, the new LED lamp slots straight into the fitting holding the previous lamp holder,” continues Sullivan. As it slots into a standard housing, it uses the existing coloured lamp filters. Unlike other aftermarket signal lamps, which are produced in red and green, ERB needs only to produce a white-light model. “It cuts down on possible mis-fittings,” says Sullivan.
All the approvals
Before the ERB product could be approved, it had to meet the “RAMS” points of reliability, availability, maintainability and safety. In the development of its product over the past three years, ERB complied meticulously with RAMS requirements. In terms of verification and accreditation, it is TÜVRheinland SIL 4 certified against the Cenelec EN50129:2003 standard. It has a driver interface to the RT ES 10062 standard and conforms to the Transnet Freight Rail Environmental Specification CSE-1154-001. ERB Technologies is in the final stages of obtaining approval from Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), the final stages being little more than a formality. Prasa is currently running a pilot programme using the new lamps on its network in Durban. “With TFR we have completed an application for a suppliers’ framework agreement,” explains Sullivan.
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Left: ERB engineer Clinton Thorne with Andre Sullivan.
Established quality
ERB Technologies has been providing a service and product to the South African railway signalling industry for 13 years. The company prides itself that, at all times, it is effective, efficient, competitive and delivers quality. Its main business is in the manufacturing, repair and refurbishment of comprehensive railway signalling systems. It undertakes comprehensive railway signalling projects and the system integration of various signalling systems. With the approvals in place, any rail operator in the world will have no problem using the ERB lamps. “Currently, ERB is working with the Department of Trade and Industry to facilitate entry into the export market,” concludes Sullivan.
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Thermitrex
Innovative end-of-track solution
Contracts manager for SIMS Martin Britswith; Thermitrex sales and marketing manager Leon van der Heever: and Rawie’s Lutz Fahrenhorst.
For over 150 years, buffers on South African dead-end tracks have comprised simple steel-frame structures contrived from standard rail, many featuring a sturdy, horizontally-mounted, timber bumping post. There has been one notable exception - for many years Pretoria’s main station boasted truly impressive hydraulic buffers at the ends of platforms 1-5. Lengthy steel piston contraptions protruding from substantial housings suggested that any train overshooting would not only be stopped in its tracks but determinedly repelled.
safety technology, each unit individually tailored to meet the specific needs of every type of track and rolling stock, barrier system and loading technology. The Rawie buffers at Bridge City are of a special design developed specifically for this station. Though these have been a first for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), it is of interest that Rawie buffers are in use on the Gautrain system.
Unfortunately, no one seems to have photographed Pretoria’s unique buffers, which disappeared during remodelling of the platforms some five decades ago.
Apart from avoiding damage to the train, the Rawie device itself is unaffected when a train overshoots its stopping point. “All you have to do is push it back into position,” explains Martin Brits, contracts manager for SIMS, the contractors who carried out the installation.
Today a new series of friction buffer is available in South Africa from manufacturers A Rawie GmbH & Co KG. At the recent Bridge City (Durban) station installation, Railways Africa spoke to Rawie’s commissioning engineer, Lutz Fahrenhorst.
In South Africa, Rawie is represented by Thermitrex, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Goldschmidt International Gmbh of the Republic of Germany and one of the parent company’s 22 subsidiaries worldwide which specialise in rail welding technology.
Railway buffer stops, he points out, are only intended for emergency use; trains normally pull up without touching them. In fact, colliding even at low speed with the conventional buffer, a rigid steel affair with absolutely no “give”, invariably results in damage.
Thermitrex (Pty) Ltd
The Rawie buffer is mounted on four rails running parallel. The two extra rails are to prevent the device being wrenched upwards and off the track. The buffer is anchored to the rails by 22 friction elements, allowing it to slide though offering considerable resistance. Every friction element can dissipate energy of 40 kilojoules per meter of energy, Fahrenhorst explains.
39 David Road, Boksburg East, Gauteng, 1459 Leon van der Heever: Sales and Marketing Manager Tel. +27 (11) 914-2540 /6 Fax. +27 (11) 914-4627 leon@thermitrex.co.za
There is no intention of trying to deal with a speeding train. Rawie’s device, designed for impacts with a maximum speed of 20km/h, acts as a safety net. Should the driver misjudge his stopping distance, the objective is to assist in bringing the train to a safe stop. Train speed, weight and stopping distance are basic parameters used by Rawie engineers in designing buffers. In the case of those at Bridge City, a minimum stopping distance of 16.5 metres applies. “We have been developing, producing and installing buffers for railway systems for more than 100 years,” Fahrenhorst says. The technology is well proven, with more than 4,000 Rawie buffers installed worldwide in stations, shunting yards and sidings. Rawie manufactures dynamic end-of-track buffers and railway The friction elements provide the necessary sliding resistance.
Hycon
Speeding up electrical disconnections Recent developments in South Africa’s rolling stock arena have dictated the use of AC 220V mains power connections between certain wagons. Because these need to be coupled and uncoupled repeatedly, electric connectors must be sufficiently safe and robust to withstand the harsh operating and climatic conditions often encountered on South African rail lines. Train turnaround times are all-important so coupling devices need to be quickly and easily disconnected. As train operating personnel often work under pressure, inadvertent rough handling can occur. Coupling often has to be done at night, in less than perfect visibility. Wherever electrical connections are involved, of course, safety features are essential to protect staff from accidental contact with live terminals. The sturdy decontactorTM supplied by Hycon Marechal Technology ideally suits repeated railway coupling and uncoupling, providing high performance and safety to the user throughout its life. In place of sliding-fit sockets, spring-loaded, silver nickel butt terminals with integrated power switches are employed. These ensure excellent connectivity at all times, being resistant to corrosion, vibration, and mechanical shock and temperature variations. The device has been designed to undergo 10,000 cycles during its life. This level of reliability is eight times higher than that required by the EN 60309-1 standard. Voltage spikes are no problem as current variations eight times greater that the rated capacity for one minute can be handled. Metal casings provide mechanical shock resistance up to IK10, while the unit is able to operate reliably in temperatures from -40°C to +60°C; and it is watertight up to IP69k, 100 bars and 80 °C.
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The Hycon Marechal decontactor™ is sufficiently safe and robust to cope with harsh conditions.
In terms of safety, the device will provide a safe connection or disconnection even under short-circuit conditions. The unit has a padlock option to prevent uncoupling or access to the socket when the plug is disconnected. In the event of an emergency, a motor’s power supply can be safely disconnected by a trained operator without having to wait for a qualified electrician. If repairs become necessary, these can be handled in South Africa. Hycon Marechal Technology Tel.: (011) 894-7226/7/8 Fax: (086) 604-1778 e-mail: sales@hyconelec.co.za
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MISHAPS
Mishap s One objective of our regular feature reporting and commenting on rail mishaps is to provide information and object lessons from Africa and abroad, in the hope that – in some cases at least - this might help avoid recurrences. CONFUSION AT SANDTON STATION ALARM
A “blaring” hooter that sounded at Gautrain’s Sandton station on Friday morning 21 November reportedly sent commuters scurrying. Apparently it was a “false fire alarm” (according to Bombela’s Errol Braithwaite) but they didn’t know that. Neither did the security staff, who hurriedly evacuated the station. Bomb scare rumours abounded. Press stories did not reveal whether the warning also sounded on the platforms, but if it did, it couldn’t have amused people who had to make their way up some 40 metres to the surface.
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It couldn’t have been funny for those involved, but one can’t help imagining a Fawlty Towers fire-drill type scene.
PASSING TRAINS SANDWICH TRUCK AT CROSSING
On 24 November, at a snow-covered crossing between the Kondratovka and Petropavlovsk stations on Kazakhstan’s South Urals Railway, trains passing in opposite directions sandwiched a large truck which failed to stop. It is thought the vehicle skidded when its brakes were applied on the icy road – careering it into the path of a freight train on the further of the two tracks.
coaches were damaged. The sequence of events was recorded in clear detail by a surveillance camera and the spectacular video was widely published.
TROUBLES IN ROME
Early in November, the first train on Rome’s new $US3 billion driverless metro line C failed four stations short of its destination. The dignitaries were forced to alight and walk to another set which was hastily arranged. That ran into trouble, too. The doors jammed, trapping the mayor and others inside. The authorities blamed “software problems” – following a litany of headaches since the line was first planned in 1994. Originally it was intended to start running 14 years ago – in the year 2000. According to press reports, the project suffered from “bureaucracy, cost overruns and legal challenges”. Ancient archaeological remains came to light during excavations and delayed work for months.
DERAILMENT LANDS BOEINGS IN RIVER
Nineteen wagons in a westbound freight train derailed on 3 July about 16km west of Alberton in western Montana. Six flatcars were carrying Boeing 737 fuselages and three of those landed in the adjacent Clark Fork River. No one was injured in the accident. The fuselages, produced by Spirit AeroSystems’ plant in Wichita, Kansas, were on their way to Boeing’s Renton assembly plant in Washington state which puts together more than two complete aircraft every day. The train that went off the track was also carrying fuselage panels, a “lower lobe” fuselage section for the 777, and a “leading edge flight surface” for a 747.
33 OFF AT CASSELTON
On 13 November, 21 wagons in a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) eastbound freight that derailed 3km from Casselton in North Dakota were hit by a westbound empty oil consist in which 12 tankcars came off the track. BNSF officials suspect that a broken rail was the most likely cause of the first derailing.
The locomotive clipped the truck on the crossing, spinning it partly round to face an oncoming passenger train on the other track. This one hit the truck head-on, hurling debris into the air and derailing four wagons in the freight consist.
ONE FATALITY, 70 INJURED IN ALGERIA
An Algiers-Thenia electric passenger train derailed on 5 November near the Hussein-Dey station. A woman died and 70 people were hurt, according to the Algerie Presse Service. Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal personally attended at the scene of the accident. No further details were disclosed or information about the likely cause. Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviares (SNTF - the state railway of Algeria) said train operations were restored gradually, with traffic returning to normal on 6 November. Both the ministry of transport and SNTF set up committees of enquiry.
DERAILED RUSSIAN TRAIN IN WATER
The 24-year-old truck driver survived the first collision but died in the second. No train passengers were reported hurt but three
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The official Russian news agency Tass reported the derailment of a two-coach passenger train on 3 November, on the shore in the Sakhalin region between the port towns Kholmsk and Chekhov. A railway employee died and 17 of the people on the train were hurt. It was believed that water washed out the ground beneath the track, causing it to collapse. The incident followed bad weather, heavy rain and tidal waves.
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Mishaps held up for several hours by official investigations, blocking the only other crossing giving road access to a residential area bordering Lake Michigan. According to a local resident interviewed by a reporter, people frequently drive around the lowered booms.
LOCO DEMOLISHES CROSSING GATE
MASSIVE CAPE TOWN STATION DISRUPTION
Morning peak hour suburban services approaching Cape Town’s main terminal were seriously delayed on Friday 31 October due to theft of four metres of multi-core signalling cables during the night. Trains had to be signalled manually into and out of the station and points operated by hand. Radio reports spoke of commuters being delayed as much as two hours though there was no official confirmation of this. Many people jumped down from stranded trains and walked along the tracks into the station. According to Metrorail’s Riana Scott, 150 train movements take place in and out of the terminal between 05:30 and 09:00 on weekdays
It wasn’t the most serious accident of the week but it made headlines in the village of Lingwood in Norfolk, where the local paper published graphic photos and many excited comments from locals. Lingwood crossing is typical of those seen on British railways for 150 years, though few remain today. The white-painted, hinged timber gates are normally closed across the track. When a train approaches, the gatekeeper moves them manually off the rails to close the road. On 31 October, for reasons yet to be determined, the gates were not operated for a locomotive running light. It ploughed into them, hurling large pieces of wood into adjoining gardens. The townspeople turned out en masse to witness the destruction and offer advice. Train services on the single line were diverted via another route, and buses were brought in to serve Lingwood while the Rail Accidents Investigation Branch (RAIB) had a look at the scene.
TFR TRAINS COLLIDE IN MOZAMBIQUE
Train services were disrupted for four days until 28 October following a collision between two Transnet Freight Rail trains at Tenga, about 50km outside Maputo. Five crew members were treated in hospital. Caminhos de ferro do Moçambique (CFM – the state railway & harbours) southern division executive director Antonio Bie was quoted by the Maputo daily Noticias saying nine goods trains run daily over the line to the port, four carrying coal, four magnetite and one with containers. In addition there are two well-used daily passenger trains from Ressano Garcia, near the South African border, to Maputo. The track was badly damaged in the accident. CFM has set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the collision which caused heavy additional traffic on the busy parallel road. It had a serious impact on Maputo harbour, Bie said.
MOSCOW SUBWAY ACCIDENT: 20 DEAD
Three coaches “near the front” of a Moscow subway train derailed and jack-knifed on 15 July in a tunnel about 200 metres from the Slavic Boulevard metro stop. According to the RIA Novosti news agency, 23 people died and about 160 were injured, many critically. More than 120 were taken to hospital. A maintenance foreman and his assistant were subsequently arrested and were to be charged with responsibility for the accident. It is understood they were in charge of work on a set of points between the Park Pobedy and Slavyansky Bulvar stations.
INEBRIATED UK LAWYER KILLED BY TRAIN
A 24-year-old British lawyer who apparently drank too much at a party in London’s Kensington on 12 April reportedly left his cousin’s flat on foot in search of a cellphone signal. He was seen very early in the morning in the vicinity of Ladbroke Grove tube station where it seems he stumbled along the platform and onto the track. A startled train driver saw the man but was unable to stop before hitting him. At the recent inquest, the coroner found he had consumed “nearly three times the legal drink-drive limit”.
•
Between them, four people had downed four bottles of wine and half a bottle of whisky.
80-YEAR-OLD FALLS FROM AMTRAK TRAIN
Rosie Madison (80) travelled on Amtrak from New York to visit her niece, Cynthia Burton, in Dallas, Texas. Shortly before 11:30 when the train was due to arrive, Burton was told by Amtrak that her aunt was “missing” from the train. They were looking for her and would advise further. The next call however was from the sheriff’s department at St Louis. Madison had been found “in the woods” with a broken leg, hip, collar bone, femur, a punctured lung, multiple bruises, lacerations, cuts, and concussion. She had been there for 12 hours without her medication, food or water. According to Burton, Amtrak told her windows could not open fully except in an emergency but seemed uncertain whether her aunt managed to force open her window or if she fell out of the rear of the train. She said they offered her a free ride to St Louis.
EGYPTIAN EXPLOSIONS DISRUPT TRAINS TWO DEAD AFTER DRIVING AROUND BOOMS
Two people died on 8 August when they drove around lowered level crossing booms in Gary, Indiana, and were hit by a Chicago-Ohio CSX freight train. A stunned witness, who was behind the car, said the young woman driver made no attempt to stop. She deliberately drove around the gate and into the path of the train. She and her male passenger were killed instantly. Trains on the double line were
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On 13 November, 16 people were injured when a bomb exploded in a Cairo metro train. It appears they were hurt when passengers panicked and stampeded, trying to leave the coach. Nobody was reported hurt following the discovery of a second bomb inside a bag in another train during the peak hour. Two policemen died and 15 people were injured on 5 November when a bomb exploded in a railway station in the Nile Delta province Minufiya. Egypt has been hit by a wave of unrest since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
Issue 5 // 2014 Railways Africa
27
END OF THE LINE
Toward the end of day Toward the end of day, As afternoon’s hot air eased And the sun’s burnt bronze To twilight’s rose gave way, Steam’s siren call Began to have her say. For me this had a pleasant end An evening spent near river bend, Along the right of way. This offered an escape from chores, School uniform and homework bores; The endless roadside fusses Of buzzing cars and buses. And an afternoon radio wailing Somewhere next door. And with day’s bright light fading, Down at the station Another world unfolded; An altogether pleasant situation Where dusk’s grey mantle Settled on the yards. And came the beacons of the night As pools of arching light. By now the anxious heat of day Had passed with dusk’s departure. Then began the secret world Of night time trains hereafter. Of smoke and couplings clanging, Of ring of steel and cough of steam And long, dark slack a-banging. Of whistles’ wailing calls at night A-bed, filled childrens’ dreaming. Then, all the day’s confusions Like ghostly wraiths unfolded; Were thrashed and chased away once more Like naughty children scolded And up upon the dusky ridge. Toward the end of town, There shone a loco’s hunting light. The Passenger came round And banged across the river bridge, Rods heaving up and down. It brought upon my beating heart Pent up anticipation As did its whistle clear for people at the station.
At last it came around that bend, Its cab light dully glowing And soon enough we heard her pant, Her string of lights a-slowing. Hot boiler as she hissed on by, Hot men from windows leaning The Passenger was back in town, To give my day real meaning. And as I headed home once more For bed and warm cocoa, I said a silent prayer of thanks For steam’s great endless show. Not knowing then it couldn’t stay, Like sunshine dipped beneath the rim, Toward the end of day. Pierre de Wet
CORRESPONDENCE ANGOLA/DRC HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY Dear editor A small point in the article Angola and the DRC: “East of Luau, the original railway crosses the Kasai River, which marks the DRC border, into Dilolo”. The border is in fact the Luau (or Luano) River (see attached scan of map), the Kasai (or Cassai) is further to the north.
There is a detailed account of the opening of the Benguela Railway in the SAR & H Magazine July 1929, pp1075-1084. A summary provides the following description: As a result of negotiations between the governments of Portugal and Belgium, the north east corner of the Congo, known as the Dililo Boot, bounded in the north by the River Cassai, was ceded to Angola in exchange for a small tract of land at Matadi in the north to accommodate the reconstruction of the Chemin de fer du Congo between Matadi and Léopoldville [today’s Kinshasha]. With adjustment of the border the River Luau (Luano) was now the boundary and consequently the Benguela Railway was extended by a further 62 miles (99.7km) making the total distance 1346km (835 miles) from Lobito. On 25 August 1928 the last length of line was laid up to concrete bridge abutment on the River Luau. The official opening ceremony of the Benguela Railway took place at Luau on 10 June 1929. A commemorative brass plaque was fixed to a large granite boulder brought from Lobito Bay was placed alongside the rails on the concrete bridge abutment on the Angolan side. Bruno Martin
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