NOVEMBER 2011
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SPECIALIST CASTINGS FOR THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY
The Scaw Metals Group (Scaw) is an international group, manufacturing a diverse range of steel products. Its principal operations are located in South Africa, South America, Canada and Australia. Smaller operations are in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Scaw’s specialist castings for the railroad industry include bogies used in freight cars, locomotives and passenger cars. Other products manufactured include: Freight car castings: • • • •
Scaw has produced castings for the railroad industry since 1921 and is a technological leader in this field and has participated in the development of unique designs such as the cast adaptor sub-frame assembly used in the “Scheffel” radial axle truck.
Side Frames • Bolsters Yokes • Cast steel monobloc wheels Draw-gear components Centre plates
Cast steel frames for locomotives: • Steerable locomotive frames • Mounting for electrical parking brakes and brakehangers • Traction motor end shields and suspension tubes in cast steel, manufactured to customer requirements
Passenger car castings: • High speed, high stability radial axle bogies for motored and unmotored passenger vehicles • Self steering bogies • Fully machined frames ready for assembly into bogies, including the fitting of bushings and wear plates • Integrally cast brake hanger brackets and mounting for auxiliary equipment Tel: +27 11 842-9303 • Fax: +27 11 842-9710 Website: www.scaw.co.za
Scaw manufactures castings under licence to various licensors, but is an open foundry with the capability to undertake work according to individual customer requirements. The company has produced thousands of sets of steel castings for freight cars for both the local and export markets. These include side frames and bolsters that have been approved by the Association of American Railroads for use on North American railroads.
Scaw supplies globally and also offers nationwide distribution in South Africa through its strategically located branches throughout the country.
SCAW METALS GROUP
RAILWAYS AFRICA / FOREWORD
Foreword
If we in publishing were in a similar boat, we should still be putting magazines together with galley proofs, scissors and Stephen’s glue. It was Stephen’s wasn’t it? Those bottles that bulged at the bottom, so they didn’t fall over when you looked the other way, and the chisel-shaped rubber cap at the top with a slit? Simplicity itself to use and one didn’t get glue all over one’s clothes and the rest of the world. (Stephen’s certainly did the ink. There were adverts for it on every suburban station….. But I digress.)
Electronic publishing has speeded up production unimaginably; we wouldn’t want to go back 50 years, that’s for sure. This doesn’t mean there aren’t - and won’t be - better ways of doing things. Sometimes it’s a good idea to try other methods and means. And sometimes old ways turn out not so badly after all. In fact, discontinuing our printed magazine might just have been a tiny bit premature. To be sure, the on-line version has been well received. Be that as it may, a careful look back suggests the best days of our lives were the months when the two ran parallel – printed and on-line, both together.
NOVEMBER 2011
As Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) CEO Lucky Montana emphasises time and again - you can’t go on renovating rolling stock indefinitely. It isn’t just a question of replacing components (assuming components are still obtainable). Metrorail’s current fleet, he points out, is based on outdated technology.
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As they are going to do again from February, our first issue in 2012. See you then.
PUBLISHER Barbara Sheat EDITOR Rollo Dickson
BARBARA SHEAT Publisher / Railways Africa
DESIGN & LAYOUT Grazia Muto ADVERTISING Kim Bevan SUBSCRIPTIONS Kim Bevan CONTRIBUTORS Ashley Peter Bruno Martin Eugene Armer Jacque Wepener John Batwell Martin Welzel Peter Bagshawe
ISSN 1029 - 2756 Rail Link Communications cc PO Box 4794 Randburg 2125 Tel: +27 87 940 9278 E-mail: stationmaster@railwaysafrica.com Twitter: railwaysafrica Website: www.railwaysafrica.com The copyright on all material in this magazine is expressly reserved and vested in Rail Link Communications cc, unless otherwise stated. No material may be reproduced in any form, in part or in whole, without the permission of the publishers. Please note that the opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers of Rail Link Communications cc unless otherwise stated. While precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, neither the Editor, Publisher or Contributor can be held liable for any inaccuracies or damages that may arise.
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RAILWAYS AFRICA / CONTENTS
Contents
Features PLASSERAIL Dynamic Track Stabilising
6 6
Africa Update DRC Train Problems
18
Lesotho Rail Initiative
20
New TFR Route Through Swaziland
24
30
SA Rail News Signalling at Ngqura
30
PRASA Fleet Renewal
40
From RhodesďŹ eld, Gautrain still only goes West
41
36 Railway Heritage Umgeni Steam Railway (USR), KwaZulu-Natal
42
Sanrasm, Krugersdorp
43
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November 2011 Railways Africa
5
PLASSERAIL
DYNAMIC TRACK STABILISING The previous articles focused on tamping to correct the geometry of the track. Tamping is the most frequent of all track maintenance activities and also one of the most important in ensuring the reliability, availability, maintainability, affordability and safety of the line. However, any ballast maintenance disturbs the track’s stability. By dynamically stabilising the track directly following ballast maintenance, stability of the track and resistance against lateral displacement can be regained to the point where the track can be immediately reopened at normal track speed, saving time and money. Dynamic stabilisation has also proved to extend the tamping cycle. 1.
INTRODUCTION
There is hardly any other track laying and track maintenance action that has been as intensively investigated by railways and research institutes as dynamic stabilisation. The ďŹ ndings from these extensive tests have contributed towards optimisation of this process. By drawing on these tests this document will discuss the theory of dynamic track stabilisation.
UNEVEN TRACK SETTLEMENT AFTER MAINTENANCE
After months of ballast consolidation by passing trains, the track panel is anchored in the ballast bed by high resistance to displacement. However, horizontal and vertical deviations from the desired geometry develop over a period of time and cyclic maintenance tamping or ballast cleaning is required to restore the designed track geometry and the ballast resilience. During the ballast cleaning process the ďŹ nes are removed from the ballast and if required new ballast is added. This process dramatically increases the void spaces between the ballast stones through the entire depth of the ballast bed. During the tamping process the sleeper is lifted and aligned. This creates a void below the sleeper and at the sleeper head. The tamping tines compact the ballast in the void below the sleeper whereas the void at the sleeper head can only be ďŹ lled by ballast under gravity. The tamping process disturbs the ballast bed and increases the total volume of void spaces between the ballast stones below the sleeper and at the sleeper head. Some of the ballast stones will now lie in an unstable position with only their corners and edges touching due to the greater void space. Therefore, the ability of the track to resist forces exerted upon it directly after these maintenance activities is greatly reduced.
Figure 1: High initial crushing of the ballast after ballast maintenance, caused by trafďŹ c.
of the ballast stone and an uncontrolled re-arrangement of the ballast stones. Figure 1 illustrates that the ballast structure has reduced volume but the gridlines have not changed their angle. The ballast stones have not rearranged themselves against one another. They were simply crushed into a new conďŹ guration. Graphically this high initial settlement can be seen in Figure 2 which shows the track settlement in millimetres (vertical axis) against the trafďŹ c in million gross tons (horizontal axis). !! " ! !" " !
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Subjecting the track to trafďŹ c at normal speed can therefore have a detrimental effect in terms of settlement and stability. To overcome this, the customary practice after maintenance has been to let trains compact the track bed with their weight when passing at restricted speed for a period of time. In other words, speed restrictions are imposed. The load from trains will cause very high pressure on the ballast edges and corners, resulting in high initial crushing and abrasion
6
Railways Africa November 2011
Figure 2: Track settlement in relation to train loads.
This period of high initial settlement is clearly visible during the ďŹ rst 100,000 tons of trafďŹ c. The track has now reached 70 to 80% of its original resistance. During this period speed restrictions are imposed due to the reduced lateral resistance of the track. This process of compacting the track by the weight of passing trains at a reduced speed has a considerable impact on train operations.
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Your Specialist Partner For Mechanised Railway Track Maintenance & Construction Machinery PERFORMANCE
Plasser South Africa (PTY) Ltd 20 Lautre Rd, Stormill, Roodepoort; P O Box 103 Maraisburg, 1700 Tel: (011) 761-2400
Telefax: (011) 474-3582
email: plasserail@plasser.co.za
PLASSERAIL In addition, within 72 hours of ballast cleaning, the tamping machine must return and retamp, in order to correct the high and uneven settlement that would have occurred. This increases the total cost of maintenance and is disruptive to train operations.
This is illustrated once again by the ballast arrangement with a grid drawn over it, in Figure 5. The ďŹ gure shows how the ballast stones change their orientation, one to the other. This is illustrated by the change in the angle of the gridlines of the stones.
In 1974/5 Plasser & Theurer developed the dynamic track stabilising machine with the aim of avoiding these problems associated with ballast maintenance.
3.
CONTROLLED SETTLEMENT WITH DYNAMIC TRACK STABILISING
The dynamic stabilising machine is introduced directly behind the tamping machine after ballast maintenance such as tamping, ballast cleaning or track renewal.
Figure 5: Homogeneous settlement made possible by the uidisation induced by vibration.
The controlled settlement with dynamic stabilisation achieves a relative force-free rearrangement of the ballast stones; only around 30% of the forces occurring due to trafďŹ c loading being transmitted. The ballast is therefore not unduly stressed and this reduces the abrasion and crushing of ballast during the initial high settlement under trafďŹ c. The voids between the ballast stones are now reduced and instead of individual contact points the ballast stones have a larger number of contact surfaces. The settlement is homogeneous over the length of the dynamically stabilised track which would otherwise have occurred unevenly under trafďŹ c loading. Figure 3: The PTS90 dynamic track stabilising machine.
This is an on-track machine which consists of two hydraulicallydriven, vibratory stabilising units located under the stabilising vehicle between the axles. It sets the track in horizontal oscillation directed crosswise/laterally to the track while at the same time applying a static vertical load. See Figure 4.
4.
THE EFFECT OF DYNAMIC STABILISATION
4.1
The Effect of Stabilisation on Track Settlement
The dynamic track stabilising machine attains within seconds the same settlement which the train loads achieve in days. When a dynamically stabilised track is compared to a non-stabilised track on the same graph, (see Figure 6), it clearly shows how the high initial settlement has been removed by stabilisation.
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Figure 6: Track settlement in relation to train loads. Figure 4: The stabiliser applies a horizontal vibration with static vertical load.
The liquefaction (uidisation) induced by the vibration together with the static vertical load causes the ballast stones to settle closer together in a more homogeneous and compact grouping in the entire ballast bed.
8
Railways Africa November 2011
In this example a settlement of 12mm was achieved with dynamic stabilisation which is equivalent to approximately 140,000 gross ton trafďŹ c.
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WAGON BUSINESS Specialists in refurbishment, repair and upgrade of wagons and major supplier of new wagons to the heavy haul coal and iron-ore eets with tare ratios as high as 5:1, as well as wagons for cement, car carriers, intermodal
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PLASSERAIL A specific “amount of settlement” can not be insisted upon since the amount of settlement depends upon a number of factors including: •
Height of the preceding lift by the tamping machine. During normal maintenance work the degree of settlement introduced by the stabiliser is usually around 10–15mm after a maintenance lift of 25mm. The maximum settlement that can be achieved on new lines or ballast-cleaned lines is around 25mm. To achieve this, tamping and dynamic stabilising is done in layers of approximately 100mm.
•
The thickness of the ballast bed. Smaller settlements can be expected on thinner ballast profiles.
•
Size and grading of the ballast stones.
•
Degree of contamination of the ballast bed. Very contaminated ballast will have lower settlements. Very fine contaminants and moisture in the ballast can however act as a lubricant to enhance the movement and re-orientation of the ballast, resulting in higher settlements.
•
Condition of the other permanent way material and components. Experience has shown that the effectiveness of stabilisation is markedly reduced on track with loose fastenings or worn baseplates. Loose fastening prevents the transmission of vibrations from the rail to the sleeper, so preventing a state of liquefaction.
The repeated runs of the dynamic track stabilising machine immediately following one another brings no noticeable improved consolidation compared to a single pass only.
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Railways Africa November 2011
4.2
The Effect of Stabilisation on Tamping Cycles
The Spoornet Track Testing Centre did extensive testing and evaluation on the effect of dynamic stabilising on the settlement and cant retention of curved track on the coal line. For comparison purposes of tamping alone versus tamping and stabilising of curves, eight curves were selected for field tests. All the curves were grouped in pairs, one being stabilised at the start of the test and the other not. Each of the groups of test curves mentioned is characterised by its homogeneity with respect to ballast thickness and fouling, geology, track stiffness and geometric features. One of the observations during the testing was the effect of stabilisation on the cant deterioration of the curve. The high percentage of cant loss on the non-stabilised curves can be seen clearly from the table in Figure 7. Test no.
Curve no.
Cant before maintenance (mm)
Cant after maintenance (mm)
Cant after 50 MGT (mm)
Loss of cant (%)
N1*
75
18.6
20.6
19.7
45%
N2
79
14.7
18.6
16.1
64%
N3*
77
18.8
21.1
20.5
28%
N4
76
17.5
21
17.9
89%
S1*
188
8.3
20.6
15.9
38%
S2
159
8.8
9.9
8.7
110%
S3*
195
28.2
37.8
36.2
17%
S4
193
9.8
11.2
9.9
96%
*Stabilised curve Source - RTR 4 (1997), P J Gräbe, J S Maree
Figure 7: Cant loss comparison.
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PLASSERAIL After 50 MGT (approximately 6 months) the stabilised curves have lost only 30% on average of the given cant whereas the unstabilised test curves have lost nearly all of the cant (90 % on average).
From the ďŹ eld tests it was noted that none of the test curves required tamping after 50 MGT (6 months), which is the normal tamping cycle on the coal line. These conclusions were drawn based on the track roughness as well as the cant of each curve at the time. Due to the higher initial quality of using dynamic stabilisation the required tamping intervention interval improved from 50 MGT to 115 MGT conďŹ rmed by the development of a ballast tamping model. This model shows, on a graph, the track roughness or standard deviation of the parameter vertical alignment (top) as measured by the IM2000 Infrastructure Measuring Vehicle on the vertical axis and the trafďŹ c in MGT on the horizontal axis. By combining engineering inputs with track experience, a standard deviation for top of approximately 1.6mm was found to be the maximum allowable roughness before tamping intervention must take place. Consecutive standard deviations for a homogeneous section of track are plotted against increasing trafďŹ c (MGT). A suitable mathematical trend is made through the available data to determine the deterioration function. The function is computed for future trafďŹ c and the expected time for maintenance is calculated where the predicted deterioration intersects the intervention level.
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Figure 8: Ballast tamping model.
4.3
The Effect of Stabilisation on Track Strength
Track strength refers to the track’s resistance to lateral displacement. If the lateral force caused by trains and or thermal stress exceeds the track’s resistance to lateral displacement, a speed restriction must be imposed so that operating safety is guaranteed at all times. Several methods of measuring track strength have been developed by different railway administrations. These include – • •
the single-sleeper displacement method, and the “07� method
“ You focus on your business, we will focus on your gas supply�
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12
Railways Africa November 2011
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AUXILIARY BUSINESS Specialists in products and services for rail cargo as well as ISO container refurbishing and wagon cleaning, including a diverse range of products and services like the supply of newly manufactured, repaired and washed
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ShareCall: 0860 111 345
PLASSERAIL 4.3.1 The Single-sleeper Displacement Method
This method was used by Franz Plasser research department in collaboration with the German Railways. Single sleepers are disconnected from the rails and laterally shifted by applying a hydraulic force.
Figure 11: The “07� method.
This improvement of track stability after stabilisation can be attributed to the rise in the sum of contact surfaces between sleepers and ballast stone interfaces.
Figure 9: Single sleeper displacement method.
The graph in Figure 10 shows the hydraulic force required to shift the sleeper (measured in kN) on the vertical axes (which is equal to the lateral resistance of the track) and the displacement in millimetres on the horizontal axes.
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For an equal shift of 2mm after tamping a force of 7.8kN per single sleeper was necessary (100%), while before tamping a force of 13.9kN (180%) had to be applied. After stabilising with a dynamic stabiliser a force of 10.5kN (136%) was required – an improvement of 36% on tamping alone.
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Figure 12: Force required to displace the sleeper.
5.
CONCLUSION
The aim of all track maintenance must be to place the track in the geometrically correct position at the highest initial quality and to conserve this state for a longer period of time.
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Figure 10: Force required displacing the sleeper 2mm.
4.3.2 The “07� Method The Netherlands Railways measured lateral resistance using a tamping machine on timber sleepers. By using a special hydraulic circuit, the track was vertically loaded with 12 tons. The force necessary to slew the track was measured at the lining cylinders and the displacement against the lining cord.
Stabilising does not in itself improve the geometry of the track. It consolidates the ballast to improve the retention of the track geometry, thus extending the period between maintenance interventions. It also increases the stability of the track which has the following advantages: • • • •
The safety to trafďŹ c is considerably increased. The higher stability of the ballast bed will allow the maximum line speed immediately after maintenance. The need for follow-up tamping after initial consolidation of the ballast is avoided. By avoiding temporary speed restrictions the reliability of the rail service is improved.
Similar to the lateral displacement method the graph (Figure 12) shows approximately half of the lateral resistance to be recuperated after stabilisation.
14
Railways Africa November 2011
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PLASSERAIL REFERENCES: 1. British Railways (BR) Report– Research Derby sectional note no 378, 10 March 1977 2. FERGUSON H – British Rail looks to business motive. New Civil Engineer, 8 October 1987 3. FORTIN J P – Dynamic stabilisation to follow track renewals. International Railway Journal, September 1978 4. FRANZ PLASSER RESEARCH & TESTING DEPARTMENT – DGS The dynamic track stabiliser, principles, tests and operating results. Issue 1991 5. GLAWISCHNIG W & RIESSBERGER K – Dynamic track stabiliser – strength through vibrations. Internationales verkwhrswesen, 1/79 6. GRÄBE P J & MAREE J S – Use of a dynamic track stabiliser to improve track maintenance and optimisation of track tamping. RTR 4, 1997 7. HERING H – Application and testing of the dynamic track stabiliser on new lines. Rail Engineering International. Edition 1989, no 2 8. LI D, COOKE J & SHUST B – The effect of track maintenance on lateral strength – AAR research, test & development report. Railway track and structures, August 1997 9. LICHTBERGER B – The homogenisation and stabilisation of the ballast bed. Rail Engineering International. Edition 1993 no 1 10. Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) Report no Abt 8e, November 1976 11. PETTY J – 60 ton giant gives slow Sunday trains a shake-up. The Daily Telegraph, 14 March 1988 12. PLASSER & THEURER – Technical description of the dynamic track stabiliser DGS 42 N 13. PLASSER & THEURER – The technology of dynamic track stabilisation (brochures, videos and reports) 14. PLASSER AMERICAN – PTS-90, Dynamic track stabiliser. 18 January 1999 15. RIESSBERGER K – Towards a more stable bed. Railway Gazette, March 1977 16. RIESSBERGER K & WENTY R – Track quality, key to load bearing capacity and efficient maintenance. IHHA Conference 1993 17. SARI G – The influence of the dynamic track stabiliser on track geometry. Transport International. no 1 June 1981 18. SCHUBERT E – Contribution to the stabilisation of track geometry. 19. Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF - the French national railway) Report no R 3260-76-06
In the next article, ballast management using ballast regulating machines will be addressed. If one considers that ballast costs in excess of R150 per cubic metre, that there is between 1,200 and 1,600 cubic metres of ballast per kilometre and that ballast is “consumed” at approximately 3% per annum, the significance of proper ballast management is very apparent.
16
Railways Africa November 2011
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COACH BUSINESS Specialist supplier of repair, refurbishing, upgrade and manufacturing services for suburban electric train sets
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AFRICA UPDATE
AFRICA UPDATE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) DRC TRAIN PROBLEMS According to a recent BBC programme, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – twelfth largest country in the world - covers 2,344,858km2. Fourth most populated state in Africa, “It has more than 70% of the world’s coltan, used to make vital components of mobile phones, 30% of the planet’s diamond reserves and vast deposits of cobalt, copper and bauxite.” The capital Kinshasa is home to more than 8 million. Rail routes total 3,641km officially but almost nothing is running. When it does, journeys that should take hours run into days and derailments are endemic. Current hopes centre on World Bank assistance to restore the badly run-down infrastructure. C E N T R A L A F R I C A N R E P UB L I C
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The displays include an impressive collection of steam locomotives and rolling stock, as well as smaller exhibits and models. Apart from trains and ship models, the carriage used during the hunt for the “man-eater of Kima” in 1900 is exhibited in the yard. Photographs depict the construction of the original Uganda Railway, and there are also maps, drawings and railway magazines. The museum is still connected to the operating railway, permitting access to the main-line for steam-hauled tours.
Walking Tour Kibera
SU DAN
U G A N DA
Bondo
TA N Z A N I A
C AM E R O O N
of the station, along Uhuru Highway. Established in 1917 by the then East African Railways and Harbours Corporation, it safeguards and exhibits remnants and records of the railways of East Africa from their date of establishment to the present day.
“This is a social tourism mission intended to increase consciousness about the Kibera slums in Kenya. The Kibera slum is the most highly populated informal settlement in East Africa, accommodating about one third of Nairobi’s population. The walking tour of Kibera offers safe walking tours for the open-minded traveller and all its profits benefit the community by providing employment and supporting local development. This tour is for any one who would like to experience the hardships of slum life in Kenya. It is located 5km from the [Nairobi} city centre and is the second largest slum in sub-Sahara Africa, second to Soweto slums in South Africa.”
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[One is not at all sure that residents would appreciate Soweto being described as the largest slum in Africa. – Editor: Railways Africa.]
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NAIROBI Ex-South African 1,975hp class 32 loco photographed in the DRC by Martin Welzel in 1991. GE U18C1 type, 1-Co-Co-1, dating from 1959.
KENYA KENYA RAILWAY MUSEUM Adapted from: http://anthonyajuma.articlesbase.com/destinations-articles/ the-major-tourists-attraction-in-nairobikenyaeast-africaregion-4218511.html#ixzz1YtOSXoYB Among important tourist attractions In Nairobi is the Kenya Railways Museum, situated in an old building at the north-west end
18
Railways Africa November 2011
Mwanza
TANZANIA
Voi
Lamu Mombasa
PRIVATE SECTOR TO RUN NAIROBI TRANSPORT According to Business Daily (published in Nairobi), quoting Kenyan transport minister Amos Kimunya, the government is to build the planned 167km urban road and rail system in Nairobi, leaving private companies to manage the services. Investors will be invited to provide rolling stock such as trains and high-capacity buses in
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AFRICA UPDATE terms of the Nairobi Metropolitan Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS), set to start in 2012.
in our national power grid. We don’t want to deny other sectors growth by taking all the power to trains,’ the minister explains.
“The grid will link the city centre with key neighbouring towns and municipalities such as Kikuyu, Thika, Ruiru, Athi River, Kitengela, Machakos, Limuru and Kajiado. A feasibility study by Consult Engineering Services of India and its Kenyan partner APEC Limited showed the project would cover nine road corridors including the Nairobi Railway Station (NRS)-Ruiru-Thika, NRS-Juja RoadKangundo, NRS-Jomo Kenyatta Airport-Athi River, NRS-Langata Road-Karen and NRS-Upper Hill-Ngong.
“Phase One of the MRTS project would cover the corridors along Thika Road I, Juja Road, Jogoo Road, Ngong Road 1, Limuru Road and Mombasa Road comprising 50.18km of elevated rail lines and 40.42km of road.
“The Nairobi railway station area, including the yards, has been proposed for the construction of a 24-storey central hub terminal for the transport system where all lines would originate or terminate. A blueprint presented to the government showed the road network would be serviced by an exclusive rapid bus system, complete with special feeder services.
“The second phase covers Outer Ring Road, Thika II, Waiyaki Way, Ngong Road II, Thika Road III and Lang’ata Road. The rail and road network in this phase would total 35.04km and 41.44km respectively. Consult Engineering and APEC Limited estimate the MRTS project would cost about Sh409 billion to implement though the budget could be varied once the design is complete. Some of the highways covered by this project may be upgraded to between four and eight lanes, the consultants said.”
LESOTHO LESOTHO RAIL INITIATIVE
“The special bus routes will run alongside the normal highways except within the central business district (CBD) where the system would be elevated. An estimated 378 buses would be required to operate this exclusive service by 2015. “The rail network is proposed on an elevated platform with a total of 76 stations and five maintenance depots. “Diesel-powered trains will be used initially. ‘For a start we will stick to diesel-powered trains until we sort out capacity issues
Members of the Southern African Railway Association (Sara) represent each of the region’s railways. The government of Lesotho, which has no railway, is to send observers to all future meetings of the association, which has agreed to support the small landlocked country in its endeavour to build a rail system for itself. An existing Transnet branch does enter Lesotho but continues for only 2km to Maseru, and no other points are served. Sara executive Gideon Mahlalela, who is CEO of Swaziland Railway, told FTW that his country would give Lesotho the benefit of its rail experience.
RAIL VEHICLE SYSTEMS
International Railway Industry Standard
GM571_PRESSLINK
Knorr-Bremse South Africa (Pty) Ltd (KBSA) has had IRIS certification since January 2009 and has just successfully passed not only a re-certification but also an upgrade audit against revision 2 valid from 5 January 2011. KBSA is the first and only company in Africa to have obtained IRIS certification and has experienced the benefits of this certification by reduced non-conformities, improved customer support, improved product quality from suppliers – simply, improved business management across the entire supply chain. | www.knorr-bremse.com | Knorr-Bremse S.A. Pty. Ltd. 3 Derrick Road (Corner Green Road) 1610 Spartan Phone: +27 11 961 7800 Fax: +27 11 975 8249 20 Railways Africa November 2011
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ROLLING STOCK EQUIPMENT BUSINESS Specialist manufacturers of parts and sub-assemblies for locomotives, coaches and wagons. Processes include
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laser cutting, bending, forging and the fabrication of carbon and stainless steel alloys.
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AFRICA UPDATE MOZAMBIQUE NACALA PORT AND RAILWAY
export of its products to countries in the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
Brazil’s Vale mining company intends to double production of its Moatize coal mine to 22 million tons a year at a cost of $US6 billion. Limited exports began in June 2011, using the Sena line to the coal terminal at the port of Beira, but even when upgrading is finally complete, capacity on this route is unlikely to exceed about 6mta.
Adesokan said the Dangote group had invested heavily on haulage with the purchase of over 2,000 trucks to distribute cement to the various depots in the country. “This is our own corporate social responsibility initiative and no other company has done this.”
To increase output, a new rail link of about 100km is to be built east of Moatize into Malawi, to join the existing railway that runs from there to the northern Mozambique deep-water port of Nacala. Vale sales and marketing manager Marcelo Mattos is quoted saying that this corridor would be able to move 18mta.
ZAMBIA
MALAWI
Lake Malawi
TANZANIA
Lichinga
MOZAMBIQUE
Chipata Lilongwe
Bassa D Cabora
Nacala
Cuamba
am
Nkaya
Monapo
Entre Lagos Nampula
Moatize
ZIMBABWE
Za Tete m be si R ive r
Chiromo
BIG BLDGS IN WAY OF ABUJA LRT
Mocuba
Mutarara
Morrumbala
Vila de Sena Caia
Quelimane
Inhamitanga
To Harare
Lumbo
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Marromeu
Indian Ocean
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NIGERIA CEMENT BY RAIL IN NIGERIA According to Nigerian minister of transport Senator Idris Umar, collaboration between the management of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) and Lafarge Cement Wapco to haul its product will help meet growing demands for cement across the nation and reduce road damage caused by heavy-duty trucks. His speech was read by NRC chairman Ladan Shuni who represented the minister at the inauguration of the new Lafarge cement freight train service at its plant in Ewekoro, Ogun State. It was disclosed that railage of cement to major cities in the country is to start within the next few weeks with a total carrying capacity of 2,700 metric tonnes weekly, equivalent to 25 trucks on the road. NRC managing director Adeseyi Sijuwade used the opportunity to announce that 20 tankcars are to be delivered to the railway from the Peoples Republic of China during October, to improve capacity for moving petroleum products.
DANGOTE GROUP PLANS RAIL CONNECTIONS IN NIGERIA Dangote Cement Terminal managing director in Lagos Akin Adesokan is quoted saying the group intends to construct lines connecting all its cement factories to the Nigerian national rail system, to reduce the cost of transporting its products. Dangote envisages establishing an international freight system to boost the
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Railways Africa November 2011
Responding to questions during a tour of work on the Abuja light rail project, Chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE - Abuja Chapter) Joseph Olatunde Akinteye called for the “quick demolition” of structures illegally erected on the land. Apparently these include the NNPC Mega Filling Station, Danzali Plaza and “a host of other structures” in the central business district of Abuja. Akinteye demanded strong punitive action against officials of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration for “deliberately upsetting the Abuja master plan” through allocating land for these projects. He pointed out that the action of these “unpatriotic persons” cost innocent Nigerians who had been wrongly allotted such land, “colossal financial loss.”
SIERRA LEONE CHINESE COMPANY’S PROBLEMS IN SIERRA LEONE The China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG), currently constructing infrastructure for the government of Sierra Leone, faces problems with existing services that were supposed to be removed in advance of the work, which is now falling behind schedule. According to the Concord Times (published in the capital, Freetown), utility companies involved include the Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC), the National Power Authority (NPA) and Sierratel. Project coordinator for CRSG Liu Fei was quoted saying “We have long informed these companies to remove their existing pipes and cables where the work is being done but to no avail. The snail pace at which construction is moving is not our own making. We have everything in place to complete the job within the shortest possible time but the utility companies are not helping matters. We have informed them long before now to have their existing pipes and cables removed but that is yet to be adhered to. Every
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GM620_VAE_Presslink
Gautrain Turnout Assembly
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AFRICA UPDATE Wednesday, we hold meetings with these utility companies to find a way forward. But the companies are saying they don’t have the resources and materials to have their properties removed”.
SWAZILAND
contributions. Of the 100% revenue generated by the company, 67% of the total goes into salaries with the reminder going into fuel procurements to sustain the company’s operations, leaving the company unable to meet debt obligations to various creditors, which threatens its existence.”
NEW TFR ROUTE THROUGH SWAZILAND
MOZAMBIQUE
The envisaged new line into Swaziland from Lothair, currently the endpoint of a branch from Ermelo in South Africa’s Mpumalanga, would assist Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) by providing an alternative route for general freight between Ermelo and Richards Bay. A feasibility study is in progress. An environmentalimpact assessment (EIA) will begin once the feasibility study is completed. Line construction will be the next step after that, probably in about 18 months’ time, and this is expected to take three to four years. The diversion would have the effect of increasing coal capacity on the heavy-haul line to Richard’s Bay. At present this falls short of that available at the coal terminal by a considerable margin.
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
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MANANGA PIGGS PEAK
Tazara has appealed to all unionised staff to resume work immediately and be assured that everything possible is being done to ensure that issues raised are speedily addressed, “if they are within management ability.” In the words of a contemporary press report: “the predicament at Tazara is despite the concerted efforts and constant injection of capital by China - in excess of $40 million since 2010. Tazara is key to Zambia’s mining industry as companies in the sector rely on its for exports of copper-related products to Europe and other markets beyond Africa through the Dar es salaam port in Tanzania after railage over 1,860km from Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia.”
TSHANENI MHLUME
MHLUME SIMUNYE MILL
Hhohho
KADAKE
The lack of sustainable recapitalisation of Tazara has led to the company’s haulage capacity declining from a capacity of 1.2m tonnes during 1986/1987 to a “paltry” 383,055 tonnes in 2008/2009 although there has been a slight improvement to 522,966 tonnes in 2009/2010 and 533,964 tonnes in 2010/2011.
MLAWULA
MGWILI EHLANE MBABANE
MALOYO
MPAKA
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SITEKI MANZINI MATSAPHA
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to Lothair
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Ifakara station on the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (Tazara). Photo: Manuel Hetzel.
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RAILWAY SYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA (RSZ) INVESTMENT
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TAZARA TAZARA TROUBLES SPELLED OUT The Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara), a joint venture between the two countries, urgently needs about $US770 million to sustain its operations and meet freight and passenger requirements. The prolonged strike by more than 2,000 workers over improved conditions of service and wages has severely hampered operations. Tazara managing director Dr Akashambatwa Mbikusita says the government of Zambia should consider allocating funding “in the fuller context of appreciating that Tazara is critical for the survival of the Zambian economy.” It is envisaged that Tazara would further be able to source investment capital from lending institutions. Tazara, Mbikusita says, “needs to redress the abnormal situation under which authorised share capital is less than capital
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Railways Africa November 2011
According to Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ) chief executive officer Benjamin Even, the company’s investment in Zambia since 2004 has reached about $US50 million. “Our investment is continuing as planned and if new policies are implemented, the pace of investments will be increased,” he says. “The rail sector in Zambia has been facing some major challenges for some time. The government of Zambia must honour the concession agreement for the sake of the Zambian economy and RSZ employees, and should support our sector with implementation of transport policies which will make the railways more competitive in order to shift traffic from road to rail. These are mainly reflected in the road levy refunds, support towards security and road regulations to be enforced such as weight limitations and toll gates,” Even says. The company is facing challenges “such as huge outstanding debts from neighbouring countries’ railways which are estimated at $6 million and about $5 million of road levy paid which has never been refunded.” Vandalism, he says, “has continued to haunt the company. Addressing such matters will benefit us all as opposed to creating a wrong impression in the public which could
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LOCOMOTIVE BUSINESS Specialists and leading supplier of maintenance, repair, upgrade and manufacturing services in Southern Africa
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for AC, DC and diesel-electric units.
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AFRICA UPDATE lead to major risk for this concession; this was observed in other railway concessions and companies which have failed recently in the region.” Even adds, “money is not easy to come by but is a direct result of hard work and responsibility of each and every employee of the company towards its targets, assets and image. We all want more, but without this, it will never come. Our role is to work hard and plan while the government should support us with the right policies.”
Niamey and Burkina Faso’s Ouagadougou, from where an existing line continues back to the coast. According to a joint statement released in Niger, “A roadmap will be drawn up soon in order to secure financing for this important regional economic integration project and allow for construction to begin in 2014.” Tambao
MALI
Referring to media reports about sub-contracted employees in Ndola, Even and the union president clarified that these are not employees of RSZ. They were engaged by a contractor working for the company. “For the record, internal investigation has revealed that contrary to the report, this contractor is paid well above the government stipulated minimum wage per employee on a monthly basis. Invoices and payments could be presented to the relevant authorities upon request. It is only a pity that some individuals are taking advantage of the current political situation for various reasons,” Even says.
Niamey Kaya
Dosso Ougadougou
Banfora
GHANA
Jos
Parakou Ilorin
Blitta
Makurdi
Accra
Abidjan
On 31 November 2011, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Burkina Faso agreed to a 2,700km new rail construction project to link the four countries. Two of the region’s main ports – Cotonou in Benin and Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire – are to be the endpoints, with rails running the full length of Benin, continuing through Niger’s capital
Kaduna
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SA RAIL NEWS
SOUTH AFRICAN
RAIL NEWS SIGNALLING AT NGQURA A R17 million fast-track signalling contract for the marshalling yard at the Port of Ngqura in the Coega industrial development zone near Port Elizabeth was completed by Actom Signalling recently. The new equipment has been installed to control the entrance and exit of trains in the marshalling yard at Coega station and to upgrade the communication systems between existing stations in the vicinity of the port. The work comprised the supply and installation of new control equipment, including Mark1C interlocking, in a new relay room at the relocated Coega station, as well as supplying and installing fail-safe data transmission (FSDT) connections over fibre-optic cable between Coega and five other stations along a 60km section of the De Aar-Port Elizabeth main-line. In addition, the five stations were equipped with modern axle-counters, and the old remote-control system was replaced with the state-of-theart Transnet CS90 system. The five stations involved were Grassridge, Barkly Bridge and Addo on the De Aar side of Coega, together with Aloes and Swartkops on the Port Elizabeth side.
industry, a perennial source of dissatisfaction with rail service, one from which kudos are praise indeed. It’s an impressive-sounding strategy with an inspiring ring to it, though it isn’t altogether new. To tell the truth, it’s been promised before. Spoornet senior strategy manager Deidre Strydom - to take one example - conceded at a 2006 Pretoria motor industry conference that rail freight services between Gauteng and the harbours were ‘’erratic at best’’, obliging manufacturers to rely on road transport. “We are one of the few countries that has not fully embraced the concept of scheduled rail services,” she was reported saying. Commenting on this at the time, the editor of Railways Africa pointed out: “Successive Spoornet top managers have been promising reliable, ‘predictable’, scheduled freight rail service for at least 15 years. More recently, Siyabonga Gama – then Spoornet CEO – was talking in 2005 about a five-year plan, and an aim of becoming a predictable, fully-scheduled railway.”
Explaining the portion of the contract involving the installation of the FSDT system, Actom Signalling’s contracts manager Gerrie Coetzer said it also included linking up to the central traffic control (CTC) system located at Port Elizabeth station. ”Our contract required installation of the FSDT system between the stations to provide more reliable communication between stations. This required migrating the blockworking between stations off the old coaxial copper cable onto fibre-optic cable,” he added.
COAL, ORE, MANGANESE RAILINGS IMPROVE Throughputs of coal, iron ore and manganese export traffic, to Richards Bay, Saldanha and Port Elizabeth respectively, have all increased in recent months, according to the South African Chamber of Mines. Though it is understood that actual figures are not exactly startling, the improvement is to be welcomed, following years of complaint from the mining sector about railway shortcomings. In particular, weekly coal deliveries to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) in September constituted a record. Government favouring small coal producing entities with an empowerment rating is a limiting factor, observers suggest. These load the commodity into rail wagons using slow, front-end loaders, compared with bigger suppliers with sophisticated, fast equipment. And Transnet Freight Rail’s strategy calls for minimum wagon down-time in sidings.
SCHEDULED FREIGHT TRAINS At Transnet Freight Rail, trains running to schedule are the current flavour of the moment. The new scheme of things was implemented several months back and results to date are encouraging. So much so there’ve been pats on the back from parts of the mining
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Railways Africa November 2011
Transnet freight train eastbound from Mafikeng at Chidima near Koster on 6 March 2010 behind 34 123 and 34 019. Photo: Eugene Armer.
COAL TO EAST LONDON & COEGA According to Strategic Natural Resources’ CEO David Nel, a memorandum of understanding has been signed with a private rail entity to provide rolling stock and move export coal to the ports of East London and Ngqura (Coega near Port Elizabeth). Open-cast production is to start in February 2012 and underground work in April. It is expected that the first shipments of higher-grade coal will take place by June.
TRANSNET MISSION STATEMENT From the Transnet annual report “The mandate of Transnet is to assist in lowering the cost of doing business in South Africa, enabling economic growth and ensuring security of supply through providing appropriate port, rail and pipeline infrastructure in a cost-effective and efficient manner, within acceptable benchmarks. Transnet’s mandate and strategic objectives are aligned with government’s
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New Growth Path (NGP) and the Statement of Strategic Intent (SSI) issued by the minister of public enterprises. “
Our vision “Transnet is a focused freight transport company, delivering integrated, efficient, safe, reliable and cost-effective services to promote economic growth in South Africa. This is achieved by increasing the company’s market share, improving productivity and profitability and by providing appropriate capacity to customers ahead of demand, within affordability limits. “Transnet will meet customer demand for reliable freight transport and handling services through: • Fully integrating and maximising the use of our unique set of assets • Continuously driving cost efficiencies • A demonstrated concern for sustainability in everything we do • To enable the competitiveness, growth and development of the South African economy by delivering reliable freight transport and handling services that satisfy customer demand.”
Our mission “The Company is reliable, trustworthy, responsive and safe; its employees are committed, safety-conscious, ethical, disciplined and results-orientated. “
Southbound 110-wagon coal train at Bloemhof behind six class 6E1 locos. Photo: Jacque Wepener, November 2011.
TRANSNET FREIGHT RAIL VERTICAL SEPARATION From official Transnet published results, 26 Oct 2011: “Transnet understands that the proposal of vertically separating Transnet Freight Rail has been put on hold by the Department of Transport”.
COSATU ANNOUNCES METRORAIL STRIKE ACTION During November, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) reiterated intentions to strike, to draw governmental attention to declining standards in suburban train services in the city. Cosatu’s Western Cape provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said there have been many promises over the years but things are not getting better. Government he complains has neglected the railway in Cape Town; the rolling stock is over three decades old and inadequate, with only 85 trainsets in use. There should be at least 120 sets, he says. According to a Cosatu statement, the protest action was to be held on 6 December 2011 between 13:30 and 15:30 at the Metrorail offices in the city. Cosatu members and supporters would be coming to raise their concerns about public transport from the Cape Flats and Southern Suburbs. Workers employed by Metrorail
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SA RAIL NEWS and Golden Arrow Bus Services (Cape Town’s metropolitan bus operator) would not participate as they had to transport other workers to and from the protest. “Both companies and workers stand to gain from an improved transport system,” Cosatu says. Arrangements were to be made “at company level” for workers to participate in the protest. This meant that in some instances employees would work in the time lost and in other instances companies would contribute to make up lost wages. “The protest would focus on both Metrorail and the City of Cape Town’s inability to provide proper transport”.
SARA CONFERENCE Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) sponsored the first conference held by the Southern African Rail Association (Sara) which took place in Midrand from 1-3 November 2011. A technical exhibition was hosted at the same time. The aim of the conference was to raise awareness among stakeholders of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) rail network and to highlight new initiatives in improving services and promoting the integration of railway systems in the region.
These activities, Hambili says, form part of Sara’s role in promoting a “rail renaissance” in the SADC.
“GOVERNMENTS MUST FUND RAILWAYS” Speaking at a media briefing in advance of the Southern African Rail Association (Sara) November conference, the association’s executive director Bernard Dzawanda said governments should take responsibility for maintaining rail infrastructure “so that we can redirect our resources to operations”. His comments were echoed by Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siyabonga Gama, who said most railways in the world depend on their governments for investment. “We need to get beyond political support - we need economic support,” Gama said. The funding issue was prominent on the conference agenda.
Speaking at a media briefing in advance of the conference, Sara president and TransNamib (Namibian rail authority) CEO Titus Haimbili said that significant focus was to be placed on developing and integrating cross-border public/private partnerships. Sara is lobbying SADC countries to implement an integrated electronic customs system wherever possible, to facilitate the operation and speed of trans-frontier trains. The association says it has successfully lobbied SADC member states to waive fuel levies paid by railways, and create “railway funds” to help improve rail infrastructure and operations across the region.
Siyabonga Gama.
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Railways Africa November 2011
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FOUNDRY BUSINESS Specialist producers of a range of cast products for the rail industry from locomotive, wagon and passenger coach parts through to state-of-the-art permanent way components. We also serve the mining, automotive
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SA RAIL NEWS TRANSNET PENSIONS DEBACLE In terms of the Transnet Second Defined Pension Fund provisions, the parastatal’s old-timers have been getting a 2% increase in their pensions every year. This doesn’t look all that bad, now that inflation is down to under 6%, but it isn’t good by any means – and anyway, official inflation takes no account of basic things like electricity and other municipal charges. How is a pensioner expected to meet a 25% increase in the cost of electricity, for instance? Complaints and discussions about Transnet pensions have been going on for years (the interests of about 80,000 people are said to be at stake). The latest round took place in the national assembly at mid-November A year ago, in November 2010, the national assembly adopted a resolution calling on the parastatal to inject R1.96bn into the fund. Both finance minister Pravin Gordhan and public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba are said to have endorsed the recommendation, but nothing was done. Transnet director Peter Moyo, who chairs the pension fund’s board of trustees, indicated that the company would discuss the matter at a 24 November 2011 board meeting. He was to report back on 25 November, the last day on which parliamentary committees were scheduled to meet in 2011.
CLIMATE TRAIN From an official statement by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) : The Climate Train is a precursor to the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting in Durban, hosted by South Africa, which aims to raise awareness around the important issue of climate change. The meeting is crucial for developing countries like South
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Africa in responding to climate change amidst its other challenges like poverty, inequality, underdevelopment - and its leadership role among developing countries. Speaking in support of the Climate Train initiative, Prasa Group CEO Lucky Montana noted the visible impact of climate change through weather extremes already being experienced in South Africa and the role played by Prasa in the fight against climate change; “We as Prasa accept our responsibility to contribute to efforts to reduce SA’s carbon footprint and to be good corporate citizens. We are pleased to be able to use our train as the vehicle to facilitate that conversation in collaboration with the partners, as we prepare for hosting COP17 in South Africa” Montana added.
PRASA: “GREEN” TRANSPORT DURING COP17: From an official statement by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) : Prasa will provide the following services during the COP17 conference: • Autopax, Prasa’s long-distance bus company, will provide transport for conference delegates during the event in Durban. • Two special trains will be run to Durban for community organisations and delegates attending the conference.
PRASA PROJECTS IN SUPPORT OF COP17: From an official statement by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) : Prasa is developing its own climate change/green policy and strategy framework which will be enhanced by the COP17 outcomes on all government departments and state-owned entities. Prasa’s climate change policy/strategy will be applicable to all its operating entities as monitored by the Prasa corporate office.
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SA RAIL NEWS Prasa’s projects in support of COP17 include: • The R100 billion rolling stock renewal programme (the purchasing of new trains) which embodies international specifications for green and energy-efficient technology, including green requirements for manufacturing, maintenance and spares for the new fleet. • Prasa’s bus operations, through Autopax, have recently purchased 500 new buses with energy savings and emission control specifications/standards. Autopax is introducing measures on all its bus fleet to optimise and monitor energy savings. • Prasa is in the process of updating its norms, guidelines and standards for all infrastructure, station facilities/structure construction and other works to include green designs and green SABS materials usage, eg maximum natural light in station designs. • Prasa’s property entity, Prasa Cres, has launched a project to retrofit all light fittings and globes in major stations with energysaving fittings and globes. It is investigating a pilot project for the testing of solar panels at major stations, to be rolled out to the entire network, to augment power supply. According to Prasa Group CEO Lucky Montana: “We will continue to seek ways to reduce our carbon footprint in our operations and we are pleased to be part of the change we want to see in the world. As a carrier of 2.4 million passengers per day nationally, we are the only public transport provider that has the capacity to help change our carbon footprint as a country. We will therefore continue to encourage people to use public transport such as trains as responsible citizens protecting the environment”.
CLIMATE TRAIN DETAIL From Ashley Peter:
Climate Train at Durban, November 2011.
“The consist was as follows:• Locomotive (class 6E1 no E1321) • Baggage van 21045 (SM - S Meyl colours) • Sitter 25806 (SM) • Sitter 26707 (SM) • Conference coach 36501 (PC - Premier Classe colours) • Kitchen car 420 (PC) • Dining car 419 (PC) • Lounge Car 802 (PC) • Sleeper 32134 (PC) • Sleeper 32138 (PC) • Sleeper 32132 (PC) • Generator car 20506 (PC) “There were climate change displays in coaches 25806, 26707 and 36501. The train remained in Durban for the rest of the week and was open to the public between 08:00 and 17:00. “The train departed Durban at 20:00 on Saturday, 10 December 2011 for Johannesburg.”
“South Africa’s Climate Train spent the past month wending its way from Cape Town via Johannesburg and elsewhere to Durban for the COP17 conference.
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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Railways Africa November 2011
PO Box 6070, Dunswart, Johannesburg, Gauteng South Africa 1508
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ROTATING MACHINE BUSINESS Specialists in refurbishing, upgrading and comprehensive testing of traction motors and auxiliary electric motors. All traction motors are expertly qualiďŹ ed and load-tested to full capacity on back-to-back motor
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SA RAIL NEWS KZN-EAST LONDON DIRECT RAIL MOOTED On 29 August 1906, a 278km line was opened from Sterkstroom (272km from East London on the main-line to the interior) to Maclear. In 1916, a 358km line entered service from Amabele, 76km from East London (also on the main-line) to Umtata, now Mthatha. Both lines ran in a generally northerly direction, with hopes of being continued one day into Natal. Then on 3 November 1924, a line was completed 266km southwards from Pietermaritzburg to Kokstad. This had similar but more deďŹ nite intentions, being known optimistically as the “CapeNatal lineâ€?. On the following day, a branch from Franklin, 41km north of Kokstad, was opened westwards to Matatiele, 302km from Pietermaritzburg. There were no further developments, unless you count the ending of service on the Maclear, Matatiele and Kokstad lines between 2001 and 2010. The Umtata line was also closed of course, but has since been reopened.
The potential gaps that needed to be closed to provide an Eastern Cape-Natal through route were all approximately 100km as the crow ies – but the operative word is â€œďŹ‚iesâ€?. The terrain is hardly what one would call railway-friendly. Heavy engineering work would have been needed. Fast-forward to November 2011 and an appeal by Independent Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa for a railway from Durban through the Eastern Cape. Replying in parliament, President Jacob Zuma agreed the N2 through the region was highly dangerous. There are plans, he was quoted saying, to build a railway, which would stimulate economic activity. [The main problem of course is still the difďŹ cult topography. Constructing a line would be extremely costly, even if tunnelling were kept to a minimum. Without extensive tunnelling however, train speeds would be too low to attract much in the way of passengers – and it seems doubtful that goods trains crawling up hill and down dale would supplant trucks on the road meaningfully, as Holomisa hopes. – Editor Railways Africa ]
Completing the missing link between Mthatha and Kokstad would only be a very small beginning. The East London-Mthatha and Pietermaritzburg-Kokstad lines are anything but ruler-straight. This map of the latter by Bruno Martin comes from Boon Boonzaaier’s Tracks across the veld (2008).
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Railways Africa November 2011
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SA RAIL NEWS COSATU WANTS LONGER STATIONS South African Congress of Trade Unions (Cosatu) Western Cape provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich has suggested the lengthening of platforms at southern suburbs stations in Cape Town, to accommodate longer trains. The existing platforms south of Salt River only take sets with a maximum of eight coaches. Ehrenreich thinks this number should be increased to 14, so platform extensions in the region of 120 metres are involved. [At many of the 25 stations, like Observatory, Mowbray, Rosebank, Rondebosch, Newlands, Claremont, etc, roads in a number of places would need to be closed to make room for platform extensions - but what happens in cases where these provide the sole access to adjoining properties? – editor Railways Africa
PRASA FLEET RENEWAL Prominent advertisements placed in the press early in November by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) advised that a briefing session was to take place in Johannesburg on 22 November in connection with the planned acquisition of new rolling stock. “This announcement is not a request for proposals, is not a request for Expressions of Interest, does not constitute any form of offer, nor any form of commitment or obligation to any person. This BBBEE Engagement forms part of an information gathering process in support of a transparent process, and must be understood as a prelude to the actual procurement of the rolling stock, which will be conducted in accordance with the laws of South Africa under the South African Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) which ensure a fair, open transparent and competitive process, that ensures value for money for government. Attendance at this briefing session is at the discretion and for the cost of the participants. “Prasa reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion at any time to amend, deviate from, discontinue, suspend, postpone or terminate this BBBEE Engagement process without incurring any liability whatsoever to any interested party. Prasa will however advertise any changes to this BBBEE Engagement process through its website”.
GAUTRAIN INVESTIGATING PROBLEMS
He found it difficult to understand continuing recommendations by consultants who should know that widening roads does not solve problems – according to extensive research worldwide but simply attracts more traffic. Pointing to the temptation to tell clients what they wished to hear, Cronin said he had a problem with management agencies appointing their own consultants to do feasibility and impact studies. Referring specifically to Gautrain, which is planned as an intercity service, he said most journeys undertaken in Gauteng, according to studies, are intra-city, not intercity. In the future, plans will be wanted which offer maximum benefit to the community as a whole.
TRANSNET ADVANCES CAPEX PROGRAMME With the aim of improving rail and port efficiency, Transnet has brought forward R6.1 billion’s worth of the R110.6 billion capital expenditure (capex) in its five-year rolling budget. This investment will now be made within the coming two years. The accelerated portion includes a R3.6 billion procurement of 95 electric locomotives and 43 diesel locomotives, a R1.3 billion plan to acquire port equipment for the Durban Container Terminal’s (DCT’s) Pier 2, and a R1.1 billion project to raise container handling capacity at the Eastern Cape port of Ngqura, from 250,000 twentyfoot equivalent unit (TEUs) to 2 million. Though Transnet’s actual capex spend in the six months to 30 September 2011 fell 6.9% to R9.5 billion (compared with R10.2 billion in the first half of 2010) CEO Brian Molefe says plans are in place to meet the R25.8 billion investment budget by 31 March 2012. Transnet needs to raise just under R33 billion over the next five years to fund its R110 billion capex plan, the balance to be funded through the company’s own cash resources. During the current financial year, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) expects to take delivery of 86 new locomotives and 1,509 new wagons. A total of 196 locomotives is to be introduced in 2013 and 106 in 2014, in line with the accelerated acquisition of 138 locomotives for TFR’s general freight business (GFB). During the interim period, the GFB recorded a 6.3% increase in volumes to 39.1 million tons. Container volumes rose 22.3% from 296,000 TEUs to 362,000.
According to the Gautrain Management Agency’s Dr Barbara Jensen, electrical faults that disrupted passenger service recently are being investigated. There were three instances of train stoppage in the last week of October, while on 1 November, no trains ran between Sandton and Rosebank for several hours. Jensen gave an assurance that the agency will report fully on the findings of their investiagations in due course, including causes determined, means taken to avoid repetition, and future action. She repeated earlier apologies to anyone inconvenienced by the hitches in service.
CRONIN ON GAUTRAIN & TOLL ROADS Interviewed in the press, on radio and on television, deputy minister of transport Jeremy Cronin said South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) chief executive Nazir Alli and Gautrain Management Agency CEO Jack van der Merwe are “technically highly competent and able to present a good case”, but suggested that overall transport policy and planning is beginning to look like the tail starting to wag the dog. Obviously one has to listen to the engineers, but one should also ask questions, he said.
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Railways Africa November 2011
Southbound container train near Virginia behind class 6E1 locos 1415 and 1167. A November photo by Jacque Wepener.
PUBLIC ENTERPRISES WANTS TO TREBLE TRANSNET CAPEX According to South Africa’s Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba, Transnet, Eskom and the Industrial Development
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SA RAIL NEWS Corporation (IDC) working together to find new ways of borrowing more money, over a shorter period of time. This would help speed up capacity increases on the coal, iron-ore and general freight rail lines, Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siyabonga Gama said at the Southern Africa Railways Association (Sara) conference in Johannesburg. One possibility is that the IDC could buy locomotives and lease them to Transnet, possibly selling them to the group over time. Gigaba says he would like to see Transnet’s capital budget doubled or even trebled. “The capex programme we are implementing now has constraints as it doesn’t create new capacity to the extent that we would want it to,” he said
FROM RHODESFIELD, GAUTRAIN STILL ONLY GOES WEST Businessman Alfonso Niemand has written to the Competitions Commission, asking for an investigation into Gautrain’s inexplicable rule that passengers boarding at Rhodesfield, 800 metres from the airport, are physically denied the opportunity to reach O R Tambo except by travelling westwards (ie away from the airport) first. He complains that nobody at Gautrain offers any explanation for this extraordinary situation and wonders if there is some sort of anti-competitive collusion between Gautrain and the airports company, possibly to do with parking.
FASTER SERVICE, LONGER DISTANCES TRAVELLED A phenomenon discovered decades ago in England has been imported to Johannesburg – by Gautrain. It is a sort of extension of Murphy’s Law, in terms of which the faster the commuter train services provided, the further people are encouraged to live from their places of work. Press reports talk (we suspect prematurely) of children resident on the East Rand attending schools or university in Pretoria. And their parents shopping at Pretoria’s Menlyn Mall. [Well-to-do people parking at a Gautrain station, training to Hatfield, then taking a feeder bus to Menlyn and returning home the same convoluted way, loaded with parcels? No way. – Editor Railways Africa]
Rhodesfield station is an interchange between Gautrain and Metrorail. Despite the proximity of the airport, on Gautrain, one can only go west.
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RAILWAY HERITAGE
Preservation is A Vital Part of The Picture
By John Batwell
Reefsteamers, Germiston
Umgeni Steam Railway (USR), KwaZulu-Natal
During the holiday season at the year-end the class 15F no 3046 was in use. The run on 16 December was to be the last main-line trip for Reefsteamers’ driver Frans van Dyk before retiring from footplate duties. With problems in his legs and his back, he can no longer sit for long periods and cannot handle the physical stress of main-line driving without distraction. So, Frans has graciously chosen to call it a day but not before sitting in the right-hand seat, for his last run on the footplate of no 3046 Janine, named after his grand-daughter.
Late in 2011, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) closed the Inchanga line used by USR due to poor track conditions. Some 600 replacement sleepers had to be secured and financed out of the club’s coffers. Fortunately the line was passed as fit for use before the year-end holidays, when the club’s North British class 3BR no 1486 Maureen was in service. In 2012, she will be 100 years old.
The class 12AR 4-8-2 loco no 1535 Susan has been out of use latterly owing to the inner injector currents wearing out.
Work continues on class 19D 4-8-2 no 2685. It hoped to have her up and running again, in the not too distant future. In November it was reported that all flexible stay caps in the firebox had been removed and the stays removed. The cross-stays were also being removed, as well as many rivets that were in poor condition.
Some 142 people were expected on a 14-coach Reefsteamers’ New Year holiday train from Germiston on the evening of 26 December for a leisurely 16-hour trip to the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, returning on Sunday 1 January. The Margate Pipes and Drums are to pipe the train (headed by two class 37s) into Port Shepstone station with a traditional rousing Scottish welcome.
On the rolling stock front, repairs to coach no 7390 are well under way. The malthoid roofing sheets have been removed and are to be replaced with a superior material bearing a ten-year guarantee. The side cladding too is being replaced with stronger material.
Class 12AR no 1535 of Reefsteamers has been out of action owing to the inner injector currents wearing out. Photo: Paul Ash.
Umgeni Steam Railways’ mainstay North British-built class 3BR no 1486 will be 100 years old in 2012. Photo: Ryan Fincham.
Friends of The Rail, Pretoria The club’s class 19D no 2650 is to return to service in the early part of 2012. During the year-end holiday season, North British class 24 no 3664 was in use on the trains. Friends of The Rail’s Nathan Berelowitz (second from left) was certificated as a private steam driver in late 2011. Photo: FoTR.
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Railways Africa November 2011
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Sanrasm, Krugersdorp Major efforts have been made with A-28 diner no 229 Shashi. The entire floor is suffering from wet rot and will be removed and replaced. About a third had been done by the year-end. The work involved removing the tables, seats etc - a big job in itself. The ceiling also suffered from water damage and all the hardboard panels will need to be replaced as will some of the ceiling boards. All the lights have gone and will need to be rewired and replaced, and the wall panels also need to be renewed. The textured material is Rexine, which it is hoped can be replaced with similar blue material to match the seats, which all need to be re-covered. An important task has been the renewal of several metres of teak waistrail which had rotted badly. Replacement teak was sourced from scrapped coach bodies and sent to SA Timber who did the profiling to match the rest. Colin Jenkins, an expert coachbuilder with 40 years of wooden coaching restoration, much of it on the Severn Valley Railway in the United Kingdom, has been supervising this and other jobs.
The future of mobility
Second-class E-13 no 2123 has had its roof remalthoided and painted. One side of the exterior has been patched and repainted. A new kit of parts for a set of droplights has arrived and will be assembled and fitted shortly. Considerable effort went into trying to match the original paint colour. This coach has some major problems in one end and the bottom stringer has rot and damage on one side. Private saloon no 15 Wesvaal has had much of the roof timbering replaced including one complete side of the clerestory. The two different construction methods employed along the whole length of the coach is making replacement of timber a long job. Half the malthoid has been replaced. A-18 single diner no 161 Phantom Pass had all the old malthoid removed and replaced, but only after much rotten wood had been removed and new timber fitted.
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Happier days at SANRASM – A-18 type diner “Phantom Pass” hired out for a thematic wedding reception. Photo: J Batwell.
Sandstone Heritage Trust, Orange Free State A steam gala entitled Kalahari Sunrise is to take place from 23 March to 1 April 2012. For more details of this event at the Eastern Free State farm railway, contact: babitan@sandstone.co.za
Zimbabwe Steam News Class 15 no 395 is earmarked to haul NRZ’s next steam Leisure Day trip, scheduled for 12 February.
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Messe Berlin GmbH Messedamm 22 · 14055 Berlin · Germany Tel. +49(0)30/3038-2376 · Fax +49(0)30/3038-2190 innotrans@messe-berlin.com
WHEEL BUSINESS Specialists in the manufacturing and refurbishing of all types of railway wheelsets for the Southern African
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