railways africa may 2010

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6 – 8 April 2011EXPO CENTRE – JOHANNESBURG

GM357 R&H 2011 - RAfrica Half pg Ad.indd 1 2010/05/17 10:19:47 AM

Paul Kilfoil

Richard Grönstedt

Shall Ford

CONTRIBUTORSAndrew Lanham

Ashley Peter

Boon Boonzaaier

Dave van der Meulen

Dietmar Fiedel

Dylan Knott

Geoff Cooke

Jacque Wepener

Jean Dulez

John Batwell

Malcolm Bates

PUBLISHERSPhillippa DeanBarbara Sheat

EDITOR Rollo Dickson

DESIGN & LAYOUTGrazia Muto

ADVERTISINGSue Klomp

SUBSCRIPTIONS Kim Bevan

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loosened on curves, for instance – probably account for something like R70 million in making good damage. Four burned out coaches set Prasa back by almost R20 million alone.

Which brings us to the sting in the tail. South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) general secretary, Zenzo Mahlangu, is quoted saying the “large increase” has created a basis from which “fair wage deals could be signed in future negotiations”. How’s that for some pretty clear writing on the wall?

The 18-day freight rail strike during May and the largely parallel passenger disruption – which began a week later but took until 1 June before services normalised – pushed South Africa back a great deal more than most people seem to realise. For the first time in 150 years, no passenger trains ran anywhere in the entire country. That went on for seven consecutive days, causing unprecedented hardship to thousands who could not get to work, severely impacting on industry and commerce. Agriculture reported severe transport dislocation. The inevitable consequence is reduced confidence in the railway and more traffic lost to the road.

Some things are lost forever. Seven days’ worth of seats unsold on passenger trains, for instance, must represent a small fortune in revenue that can never be recovered (not to mention the effect of a further two weeks’ very restricted service on many routes).

South African Shippers’ Council executive director, L M Pelser, listed some costly post-strike port realities (notably at Durban), such as ships offloading containers but sailing minus the export boxes that did not make it into the vessel-stack on time.

“Cargo owners,” Pelser was quoted saying, “could not export or import during the strike and now that the RAILWAYS | HARBOURS | INTERMODAL | COMMUTER | MINING

W W W. R A I LWAY S A N D H A R B O U R S . CO M

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Contents

Comment

Gautrain 2

Racec 4

Opinion: Pete the Pundit 6

Industry Comment 8

Africa Update 10

SA Rail News 14

Gautrain Update 18

Mishaps & Blunders 24

Stamp Special 30

Review 32

Railway Heritage 34

End of the Line 36

Comfortable, quiet, fast – and now legal > Page 2

Gautrain construction update > Page 18

New CEO for RACEC > Page 4

Zambia’s Bushtracks changes loco> 4

Cape Town station revamped & Century City opens > Page 14

Derailments during transnet strike> Page 24

strike is supposedly over they remain basically in the same position”. Obviously, he concluded, this is going to cause job losses - and that’s an interesting point. Strike-makers see only today’s paypacket, not the diminished number of paypackets tomorrow – nor the inflated cost of every commodity, six months down the line. Raise the price of transport drastically – by three times the rate of inflation, for example - and up goes the price of everything on the table likewise; costing that much more just to live, with jobs down and the country’s economy roundly hammered.

Where is government to find massive unbudgeted millions, the sort of money needed to meet the huge adjustments agreed (like 12% at Prasa; even more at Transnet)? What is the effect going to be on Prasa, repeatedly bewailing its desperate shortage of funding, its antiquated rolling stock? Recent warnings say intercity service will collapse within two years, failing radical action. How many jobs are at risk in a pending Shosholoza Meyl demise – and what will 12% pay increases be worth then?

That isn’t all, of course. To achieve settlement, the negotiators had their arms twisted to grant a R1,000 one-off payment to every employee, “to compensate for pay lost during the strike”. On top of that, dirty tricks during the strike – derailments caused by rails

Phillippa Dean

Footnote: Politicians in London are pressing for total driverless train operation, to remove what they term the unions’ “stranglehold” and their ability to bring the city to a standstill. (See Pete the Pundit on page 6).

May 2010 RAILWAYS AFRICA 1www.railwaysafrica.com

GAUTRAIN : Comfortable, quiet, fast – and now legalOn 2 June, Railways Africa had a second opportunity to ride Gautrain: a comfortable, quiet and fast seven minutes from Marlboro to OR Tambo International. The occasion was a function in the airport station, where Bombela Operating Company CEO, Alain Esteve, received the Railway Safety Regulator’s safety permit from deputy minister of transport Jeremy Cronin.

“This is the critical moment when Gautrain graduates from its construction phase to being an operating railway,” Cronin explained. Conceding that he had been critical of the project in the past and had some “minor reservations”, he said he was not going to be a “party pooper” at this stage: “I share along with all of you the excitement at what we are doing here with Gautrain and the steps we are taking with the project.”

A “FANTASTIC RIDE”Cronin commented on the train’s ability to travel at 160km/h and said it was a “fantastic ride”, adding: “The Gautrain agency has driven this with tremendous passion and skill.”

There were many positive things that could be said about the project, he continued. It is probably the largest public-private-participation programme happening in South Africa, and everyone involved had learned a lot: “Clearly, in the provision of major infrastructure, this is the way we have to go, so in this, Gautrain has played a pioneering role”.

“We have done it just in time, with eight days to go to the start of the 2010 Fifa World Cup,” deputy minister Cronin pointed out, but emphasised that the Gautrain contract had been signed before the event was awarded to South Africa, and had never been a World Cup project.

He quoted Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) CEO Lucky Montana’s observation that South Africa had missed out on several technical “renaissances” in the world of transport. With initiatives such as Gautrain, however, the country could begin to catch up.

MORE GAUTRAINS ELSEWHERE?People from elsewhere in South Africa can be expected to want similar “wonderful coaches” in their own areas, Cronin said and he saw no reason why similar levels of technology could not be implemented elsewhere.

A spokesman for the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) explained that although physically Gautrain differs from other rail systems in South Africa, the standards set for it are just as stringent.

RSR CEO, Mosenngwa Mofi, congratulated Bombela on fulfilling its legal obligations including the approved safety management system. He said: “We remain positive that our collective efforts at improving safety will lead to a Gautrain that is safe, secure and on track.”

GAUTRAIN

Authorising the system to carry fare-paying passengers meant that Gautrain was now up and running – and fully legal

RAILWAYS AFRICA May 20102 www.railwaysafrica.com

GAUTRAIN

Railways Africa / / /www.railwaysafrica.com

Deputy transport minister Jeremy Cronin and Alain Esteve, CEO of the Bombela Operating Company proudly display Gautrain's Railway Safety certificate.


RACEC

New CEO for RACECOn 31 May 2010, Charles John Harrod retired as chief executive officer of Racec Group Ltd. He has held this position since 2002 and steps down after a long and successful career with the company spanning 31 years. Charles Harrod began his career at the South African Transport Services (Sats – now Transnet Freight Rail) in 1966 as draughtsman in the chief electrical engineer’s office. He left Sats in 1975 and joined the electrical contracting division of Racec four years later, in Johannesburg. His responsibilities were primarily railway electrification design and construction projects, later expanded into township reticulation, transmission line erection and underground locomotive line projects. Charles Harrod set up Racec‘s electrical division in 1987, which afterwards expanded into the Eastern Cape and subsequently became Racec Electrification.

GROWTH WITH STABILITYRacec Electrification has grown into the major electrical reticulation contractor in the Western and Southern Cape, as well as being an important contributor to the success of the Racec group. In December 1988, Charles Harrod, together with key members of management, supported by Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank, successfully achieved a management buy-out of the group from Metkor. Charles was instrumental in Racec’s listing on the JSE Alternative Exchange in 2007. His successful conclusion of several acquisitions since listing has added significant value to Racec. During this time, the group has diversified its activities from pure platelaying into the electrification sector and has broadened its presence throughout South Africa and into Africa. Charles will continue to serve as a non-executive director of Racec, consulting on strategic and operational matters. IN SAFE HANDSGary Lee Harrod succeeds Charles, his appointment becoming effective on 1 June 2010. “I am looking forward to the future. While we haven’t been left unscathed by the recession and it’s by no means over, the future is looking much better.” Reflecting on his career at Racec, Gary, concludes there have been a number of highlights, but he is particular proud of his involvement in the listing process. A number of infrastructure projects, previously on hold, are

going ahead in the near future. “So projects are coming together, and even during the tough economic times, we have managed to retain our skills. Racec has a reputation to be proud of; we deliver on time and our quality is excellent,” he says. ABOUT GARY LEE HARROD: Gary Harrod was granted a Grinaker bursary in 1990 to study at the University of Cape Town. He holds a BSc in construction management and has completed a construction management programme at the University of Stellenbosch MBA School. He is married with two children. Joining Racec Electrification in 1998 as contracts manager, Gary was responsible for the supervision and co-ordination of multiple construction projects, and the implementation of newly legislated government and company policies. He has been actively involved in the overall management of the Racec group, of which he has been a director (as well as managing director of subsidiary Racec Electrification) since 2002.

Gary Lee Harrod


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OPINION

PETE THE PUNDIT at the RAILWAY SALE-ROOMS, ABOARD THE FASTEST TRAIN IN AFRICA AND ON THE DOWNSIDE OF STRIKESIt isn’t every day you can buy locomotives, passenger coaches, freight wagons and other railway items too numerous to mention on auction. However, once a month for auctioning off desirable railway assets isn’t bad going. In fact, it’s good to know that people still pay money for railway artefacts; far too many go out at night and help themselves.

For instance, all 382 wagons on offer at Transnet Freight Rail’s sale that closed on 13 April were sold, Peter Bagshawe tells us. There was a loco too - class 14E 14-102 - though little more than a body-shell and frames were left, this being an accident casualty. The interior had been gutted and bogies were not included.

Other bargain lots included seven Toyota rail trolleys, a Suzuki Samurai road/rail trolley (all non-runners) and a working Plasser SBR7411 rail ballast regulator with spares. A 1979 Funkey inspection trolley remained unsold. At the auction which closed on 27 May 2010, 60 wagons went for R1,520,000, together with an historic (though burned out) 1937 2M1 motor coach converted for driver training. Two 1958 class 31 (GE U12B) diesel locos - 31-025 and 041 - are believed to have fetched R131,000.

Eight L1T coaches were knocked down for R175,000.

TRANSNET STRIKE COSTS ROVOS One can understand workers wanting to strike over differences with their employers. A growing number of people, however, find it difficult to reconcile so-called industrial action when it brings unimaginable hardship to innocent people who do not deserve its consequences. This is especially the case when hundreds of thousands are prevented from getting to work. Most victims are from the poorest sector of the population, those to whom finding extra travelling money means even less on a table that may be little more than bare at the best of times. And adding an hour or two to an already overlong daily journey makes life just that much more unbearable.

Its cruel, that’s what it is, and chanting “the right to strike is enshrined in the constitution” rubs salt into an already nasty wound.

At the other end of the scale, there are well-to-do entities bearing the brunt of weeks of determined inaction that has absolutely nothing to do with them. Such as Rovos Rail, in which one man (who invested all he had in what started out as a pipe-dream) has single-handedly done more for South African tourism than almost anyone we know.

According to Rohan Vos, who has single-handedly created employment for hundreds, “The strike cost us dearly. We had to cancel two complete journeys to Cape Town. We had to leave trains in Kimberley and fly people out. That happened to two trains. And we had to leave a train in Durban.” This was due to Transnet staff not coming to work and locomotives not being available. “Signals were not working, all sorts of things. It’s been a hugely difficult time for us,” Vos told the press.

According to a Sapa report, Vos said the company had received numerous claims for costs, which it was honouring.

Perhaps we should be grateful to Maria Ramos for taking SAA out of Transnet – otherwise the planes wouldn’t have been flying either.

LOOK MA, NO DRIVERS - AND NO STRIKES Recalling there were 20 days of UK rail strikes between 31 December 2005 and 23 December 2009, the Conservative group on the London Assembly has made a proposal to city executive mayor Boris Johnson: Make all the London tube trains driverless, fire all the drivers (thereby avoiding strike disruptions) and save £141 million annually in wages.

The Victoria and Central lines already use driverless technology, it is pointed out – as well as London’s Docklands Light Rail system. Removing drivers on other lines, it is suggested “would end the stranglehold militant unions have on the city’s tube network and seriously curtail their ability to bring London to a standstill. Driverless trains offer a safer, faster, more efficient level of service.”

Loco 14-102 at Deelfontein on 26 October 2005, after the Blue Train and the Trans-Karoo went bump in the night. Photo: Die Burger.

The L1T coaches were part of the mid-eighties’ “Metroblitz” trains which linked Pretoria and Johannesburg in 42 minutes, reaching speeds of 160km/h. By way of comparison, Gautrain is to link Pretoria and Johannesburg in 42 minutes, reaching speeds of 160km/h. Snap!

Sorry guys: At 160km/h, Gautrain is not the fastest in Africa: all those press stories got it wrong. Alstom Prima II locomotives like this have been hauling 15-car Moroccan trains at 160km/h since around 2008. Typical schedule: Rabat 13:25, Casablanca (91km) 14:30. Average 140km/h. Current construction envisages TGV-type trains running at 320km/h by 2015.

FASTEST TRAIN IN AFRICA


INDUSTRY COMMENT

TYPES OF FREIGHTFreight falls into two fundamental categories. First there is low-value, high-density freight, typically bulk agricultural or mineral commodities prior to beneficiation. If the vehicle profile is sufficiently large, it achieves heavy axle load on rail with relative ease. Secondly there is high value, low-density freight, typically intermediate or finished goods. As a rule, the higher the value added, the less dense the goods, though display and protective packaging contribute to reducing density. It is often challenging to achieve a heavy axle load on rail with high value-added freight.

In South Africa, and seemingly only in South Africa as a Google search will show, one comes across the term rail-friendly freight. What does it mean? Freight is lifeless and therefore cannot be friendly: Only people can be friendly. In logistics, the freight owner or his agent is the customer, and the railway is a service provider. By the nature of business relationships, the customer’s friendliness will recognise the supplier with the best offering. Disappointingly, one seldom comes across the reciprocal term, logistics-friendly rail. It is therefore useful to reflect on how freight railways relate to freight logistics.

RAILWAYS IN THE WORLD OF LOGISTICSConsider first the logistics industry hierarchy from the perspective of the level of integration provided by its members. First party logistics concerns the consignor or consignee, one of which owns the freight and possibly the means of transport as well. A second party logistics provider is an asset-based carrier that actually owns the means of transport, and which may offer limited value-added services such as track-and-trace. A third party logistics provider, in addition to transport, offers basic value-added services, such as warehousing, pick-and-pack, and distribution. It owns at least one of them, and may contract the remainder to other parties, but it is not independent. A fourth party logistics provider is an independent, non-asset-based integrator of a client’s supply and demand chains.

The more a logistics service provider is asset-based, the lower its level of integration; and the less a logistics service provider is asset-based, the higher its level of integration. The implications for railways are clear: Their asset intensiveness naturally positions them in second party

logistics. Their fixed guideways constrain the scope of movements in which they can naturally participate: Participation at higher levels is therefore at the discretion of logistics integrators at these levels.

Consider now the time value of common bulk commodities. Prices per ton range from iron ore @ $US100-110, coal @ $150-200, to maize @ $150-300, while real discount rates range from 3% to 5% per annum. The time value per hour is therefore (discount rate)/(24x365): Dividing any discount rate by 8,760 renders it negligible - a small fraction of one cent per ton per hour, even at maximum price and rate. Such freight typically moves from stockpile to stockpile, or silo to silo, at the natural speed of the applicable transport mode.

It is thus natural that heavy-haul railways should align themselves to business that demands a comparatively low level of logistics integration. Other than occasional opportunities for direct loading to vessels, rail transport of bulk commodities is therefore largely decoupled from other activities in the logistics chain. Possibly lumpy integration can work because the time value of commodities transported in this way is low.

Furthermore, volumes are so large that direct rail access at the points of origin and destination is taken for granted. Such “door-to-door” rail service is frequently difficult to realise with high-value freight, which therefore gravitates to road - unless the axle load is sufficiently high, and the haul distance sufficiently long, to offset the cost of intermodal transshipment to or from rail at one or more intermediate nodes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RAILHow does one achieve fundamental railway competitiveness, and how does it relate to the logistics industry? Consider now the degrees of freedom of movement of transport modes, ie on how many mutually perpendicular axes a mode can move simultaneously.

Air transport supports three degrees of freedom of movement - forward, lateral, and vertical. At a price, it can offer high origin-destination flexibility and short journey times. The latter stem not only from its inherently high speed, but also from its ability to minimise route distance by flying great circle routes over natural obstacles, eg Chicago to Delhi over the Arctic Ocean. Hence, air transport ideally complements high-integration logistics management for high-value freight. Surface transport sacrifices the vertical degree of freedom of movement. In so doing, it reduces the cost of transport, but the remaining two degrees of freedom, forward and lateral, require it to overcome surface obstacles, eg circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope between Europe and Asia, and passing mountain ranges and bridging watercourses over land. This pitches surface transport at lower value freight, or tends to confine its contribution to high-integration logistics management for high-value freight to local collection or delivery. Guided surface transport further sacrifices the lateral degree of freedom of movement - the remaining single degree of freedom only allows a vehicle to move forward (and backward) on its guideway. This constrains the amount of value that high-integration logistics management can add, but can deliver lowest transport cost in high volume corridors.

Railway logisticsDave van der Meulen, managing member, Railway Corporate Strategy CC

UPINGTON

KARASBURG

PADDAGAT

KOLKE (531 KM)

HALFWEG (445 KM)

SOUS (371 KM)

CARNARVONKANAKIES (274 KM)

CALVINIA

BITTERFONTEIN

AGGENEYS

KNERSVLAK (183 KM)

OLIFANTS RIVER BEAUFORT WEST

ROSMEAD

PORT ELIZABETHGEORGE

OUDTSHOORN

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WORCESTER

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INDIAN OCEAN

ATLANTICOCEAN

PAARL

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CAPETOWN

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DWARSKERSBOS (41 KM)

ELANDS BAY

KREEFBAAI (91 KM)

LAMBERTS BAY

ROOILYF

VROLIK (791 km)

KIMBERLEY

PRIESKA

DE AAR

SISHEN (861 km)

ORANGE RIVER

ORANGE RIVER

ORANGE RIVER

VAAL RIVER

VAAL RIVER

100 200 400

KM

SISHEN - SALDANHALINEOTHER RAILWAYS

South Africa’s 861km heavy-haul export iron ore line from Sishen to Saldanha.


INDUSTRY COMMENT

A natural affinity between the degrees of freedom of movement of a transport mode, and the level of logistics integration that it can support, is therefore evident.

KEY QUESTIONSConfinement to a guideway is not necessarily insur-mountable. Indeed, while a fixed guideway does challenge the logistics of high-value freight movements, it concurrently offers attractive opportunities in particular applications. The presence of a guideway supports precise application of wheel loads, secure lateral direction, and combination of vehicles into trains. These characteristics underlie the genetic technologies bearing, guiding, and coupling, that give railways an unbeatable competitive advantage in particular market spaces.

Regarding freight rail, bearing and coupling support heavy haul. Bearing, coupling, and guiding support double- stacked containers (think of it as heavy-haul with a dash of speed). Two other prominent combinations are high-speed intercity and urban rail, but passenger rail is outside the scope of this piece. Heavy-haul has already made its mark in South Africa, and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Africa. Double-stacking of containers is at once conspicuous by its absence from Africa, and an opportunity to enter a logistics market space where rail walks tall.

SOME CRITICAL INSIGHTSThe foregoing analysis has not introduced any novel concepts, but simply set out to explore effective railway positioning from a logistics perspective, so that stakeholders may direct their aspirations and efforts appropriately. As a caution, it is worth noting that over the years there have been several attempts, possibly misguided, to re-jig the natural relation between logistics and railways. In principle, they have sought to combine the origin-destination flexibility of road with the long-haul economy of rail.

They include bi-modal systems such as RoadRailer and RailRunner (United States), multiple units for containers such as CargoSprinter (diesel, Germany) and Super Rail Cargo (electric, Japan), automated single vehicles such as CargoMover (Germany), and swap bodies (Europe). Bi- modal systems tend to need fixed routes with balanced traffic flows to ensure that bogie or vehicle turnaround cycles remain balanced. However, for this reason they are not as flexible as many lay people believe: not one has yet developed critical mass in mainstream logistics.

Reflection on the relation between level of logistics integration and degrees of freedom of movement suggests where proponents of the above mentioned concepts may have lost the plot. Logistically, they try to elevate rail service beyond its natural level of integration. Technically, they fail to achieve axle loads significantly higher than road, which is not a sound foundation for rail competitiveness. While other explanations may exist, it is evident that there is prima facie mismatch between their level of logistics integration and railway competitiveness.

The only intermodal load unit that has gained critical mass in global logistics thus far is the container, usually to ISO standards. Note, however, that the North American market considers 40-foot ISO containers small, hence emergence there of the larger 48-foot and 53-foot US domestic containers. ISO containers have a lock on the maritime market, so will likely prevail there for a long time. However, as continental and intercontinental rail landbridges have emerged, and continue to emerge, it will be interesting to observe whether US domestic containers become a global railway standard on routes that have no maritime sector.

CONCLUSIONWhere is rail logistics in South Africa headed? Most high-value freight has already left rail. Judging by the number of side-tipper interlinks seen on the roads, even heavy bulk commodities are moving to road. The fundamentals of logistics are not going to adapt to suit railways in Africa. Can the converse happen, ie can railways in Africa become logistics-friendly?

The foregoing discussion has indicated how railways can fit into a national freight logistics task, or relate even further afield to continental and intercontinental horizons. Freight railways need to align the category of traffic they convey with an appropriate level of logistics integration. The strong performance of heavy-haul and double-stacking in the global railway renaissance rests on mutually supportive alignment between level of logistics integration and rail competitiveness.

That does not mean that there are no other areas of rail logistics that could work. It does however suggest that areas exist where natural rail competitiveness is not a good fit with the logistics challenges at hand. Before attempting to position freight railways where they could not compete effectively, stakeholders would do well to recall Emerson’s assertion that nothing great was ever achieved without great enthusiasm. As yet, there is no empirical evidence in Africa of enthusiasm for a new take on aligning logistics and railways.

It would therefore be useful to recognise the inherent limitations and opportunities of competitive railway logistics and then take the fight to issues that can potentially reposition freight railways in Africa and South Africa for competitiveness and sustainability.

Double-stacking of containers in the USA: a concept conspicuous by its absence from Africa.

Bi-modal: a “Roadrailer” in Australia.

South African container train near Swartruggens. Photo: Eugene Armer.


various regions of the country. Replying to suggestions that many construction projects undertaken by China in Africa have run into problems, Shen Jiru of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is quoted saying: “We are providing free-interest loans and aid, and we are a reliable backup for Africa’s economic development.”

Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi defends the railway deal, saying “It’s in their (China’s) interest to spend tens of billions of dollars in Africa and it’s in our interest to have access to those tens of billions of dollars.”

GHANAGHANA: TEMA RAIL ON TARGETCurrent upgrading of the 10km Accra-Tema line should be completed by July 2010, says resident engineer Enyo Matrevi. Work is about 50% finished (as far as Asoprochona), with the team working “round the clock” to meet the schedule. The project, transport minister Mike Hamah explains, is in line with government plans to improve the country’s railway, an important objective being to ease traffic congestion. Extension of the suburban lines to include the Accra-Winneba, Achimota and Nsawam sections is also set down as part of the immediate to medium-term phase.

A feasibility study is being undertaken to extend – in the long term - the western line northwards to Paga on the border with Burkina Faso.

More than $US2 billion is to be injected into the rail system to facilitate the movement of goods along the 306km Accra-Koforidua-Kumasi line.

KENYAKENYA RE-TENDERS BUILDING OF THE NEW RAILWAYThe first attempt by Kenya Railways Corporation to appoint experts to design the proposed new standard gauge line failed because their quotations exceeded the amount budgeted by government. According to press reports, “the project to design a new railway between Mombasa and Malaba with a branch line to Kisumu attracted interest from 16 firms.” A tender was in fact accepted and a contract awarded to the Italian firm Italferr but it was cancelled soon afterwards, “when the corporation realised the successful bid at Sh1.2 billion was above the government’s Sh700 million-budget.”

AFRICA UPDATE

ALGERIAALGERIAN 5-YEAR RAIL PROGRAMMENearly $US38 billion has been allocated as part of Algeria’s public investment programme for 2010-2014 to promote overall development in the transport sector. The main objective is to upgrade and extend the railway network between 2012 and 2015. Electric tramways are to be built in 14 towns. Part of the national reconstruction process launched ten years ago, the complete programme involves a budget of $US286 billion for 2010-2014.

BOTSWANATRANS-KALAHARI RAILWAY Consultants undertaking a pre-feasibility study into the proposed 1,500km Trans-Kalahari Railway (TKR) are expected to report by October. It is now suggested that the line should start at Lobatse and run through western Botswana to Walvis Bay in Namibia. The World Bank and the governments of Botswana and Namibia are involved, but it is expected that the $US1.4 billion project will be funded mainly by the private sector.

Entities interested in the scheme include Canada’s Hana Mining, whose Ghantsi project has impressive resources in copper and silver. Its plans for commercial production in 2015 would prefer a cost-effective route to an Atlantic port. Australian company Discovery Metals Limited (DML), which is developing its Boseto Copper Project, would also use the proposed line as an export route. It foresees producing 3m tonnes of copper annually, starting in December 2011.

CIC Energy, which is developing an export coal mine and coal-fired power station in eastern Botswana, hopes to produce between 16 million and 17 million tonnes of export quality coal for the European market.

EGYPTEGYPT TO SPEND E£40BNA 10-year plan has been launched by the Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) involving development projects worth E£40 billion over the period 2011-2020. These are to include the building of several new lines, according to a report in the Al-Mal newspaper, which points out that the existing network is focused on the Nile delta area. Essentially, most lines radiate from Cairo.

ETHIOPIACHINESE HELP FOR RAIL BUILDING IN ETHIOPIAA loan of more than $US100 million from China is to help Ethiopia build railways linking the capital, Addis Abeba, to

Egyptian train at a station in Cairo.

Locos at Dire Dawa on the existing 781km metre-gauge Ethio-Djibouti Railway, CFDE (Chemin de fer Djibouti-Ethopien). Photo: Dietmar Fiedel.


including the acquisition of 40 new diesel-electric multiple-unit trainsets. Of this, $200 million would be raised by issuing an infrastructure bond and the rest would come from the government’s annual budget. The design of a new line linking Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the city centre is complete.

GUINEAPUBLIC SERVICE ON GUINEA LINE REVIVEDThe governments of Guinea and Liberia have agreed to permit BSG Resources (Guinea) Ltd mining joint venture to build a new iron ore export line from the Simandou area of south-east Guinea to Didia on the Liberian coast. In return, the firm has agreed to revive passenger and general freight service on the 662km metre-gauge line of Chemins de fer de Guinée (CFG).

Brazilian mining firm Vale announced a $US2.5bn deal in April in terms of which it has acquired a 51% interest in BSG, which holds half the concession rights to significant undeveloped sources of high-grade iron ore that could support a long-term mining project. Though Simandou is in Guinea, the nearest access to the Atlantic is the coast of Liberia.

The CFG line connects the capital Conakry on the coast to the Upper Niger and Kankan regions. The first 36km of route out of Conakry has seen occasional use but the remainder has seen no service in 15 years. Additional rights to exploit ore at Simandou are held by Rio Tinto, which signed a “non-binding” memorandum of understanding with Chinalco in March 2010, agreeing to establish a joint venture covering the development and operation of mines plus associated rail and port infrastructure.

MOZAMBIQUEMOZAMBIQUE RAILWAY MUSEUMDr John Middleton of the World Bank recently visited Maputo and Moatize on business. He reported on sar-L: “The station at Maputo always seems neat and clean but a pleasant surprise found on 18 April was the construction of a CFM railway museum, although this has not yet opened. It is being created on the four bay-platform tracks at the west end of the station. All four are under the overall roof

According to the same source, “A South Korean company was awarded the tender by an evaluation committee but that decision was quashed by a second team that gave the contract to the Italians.”

The parliamentary committee on infrastructure and transport chaired by Matungu MP, David Were, it is reported, is to investigate the legality of the cancellation.

An official who did not want to be quoted told Business Daily (published in Nairobi) that out of the 16 bids received, only two firms met KRC’s requirements. “Some of the 14 bidders, however, questioned the integrity of the tender evaluation process, claiming that their financial bid documents had been tampered with even after they were eliminated in the preliminary stages. ‘I received a letter informing me that my bid had been unsuccessful,’ said a bidder who cannot be named because he plans to take part in future tendering. What surprised me was that our financial bid envelope appeared to have been opened after we had been disqualified.’”

On 18 May it was announced that the design project is being retendered. Bidders had until 25 June to make their submissions. A notice in local newspapers said the tender is for preliminary design, environmental and social impact assessment services for the proposed railway, whose construction is to begin in 2012.

SQUATTERS OBSTRUCT NAIROBI RAILWAYThe slum area around Nairobi is a huge problem to Rift Valley Railways (RVR) – and stands in the way of ambitious government plans to provide a fast, substantially upgraded commuter service. At present, trains cannot move safely at speeds above 20km/h.

The Nation, published in the city, quotes RVR general manager for the eastern region, James Nyambari, saying “the biggest headache is the dumping of garbage on the track. People are employed almost daily to remove the trash from the railway and then wagons are used to take it away.”

Sewage overflows onto the track in some areas, making it muddy and slippery, resulting in wheel slip. Sometimes, because of this, RVR has to double up locomotives to obtain sufficient traction or alternatively, trains have to be split in two at Kibera station. A 30-day deadline issued by the government on 21 March, requiring people to move from railway property, came and went. Kenyan director of Amnesty International, Justus Nyang’aya, estimating that 50,000 people are involved, asked for an extension saying: “Without proper safeguards, the proposed mass evictions will have a devastating impact on people’s access to water, sanitation, food and schools and could well create a humanitarian emergency.”

A recently completed study, says Kenya Railways managing director Nduva Muli, established it will cost about $US250 million to revamp the commuter rail service in Nairobi,

AFRICA UPDATE

Nairobi commuter train.

AFRICA UPDATE

TRL director general Narasimhaswami Jayaram said that two goods trains comprising 23 wagons would be conveying various commodities including cement from the Tanga Cement Company.

TAZARATAZARA TARIFFS UPPEDNew fares applicable on the Tanzania-Zambia Railway came into effect on 1 July. Ticket prices on ordinary passenger trains as well as the Tazara Express went up 20% while parcels and luggage rates rose 30%. Travellers from Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia now pay Tsh72,600 ($US72) in first class on the Tazara Express, up from Tsh60,500 ($US60).

To Makambako (Iringa) from Dar-es-Salaam now costs Tsh29,000 ($US29) instead of Tsh24,200 ($US24). To Rujewa (Mbeya) the fare is now Tsh29,900 ($US29) instead of Tsh24,900 ($US24).

Tazara managing director Clement Subulwa Mwiya points out that the company’s policy is to adjust tariffs annually. High operational costs are being experienced, notably in the wage bill and the continually rising cost of diesel. Tazara is upgrading its facilities at a cost of $US10 million, he says, and 18 locomotives are being rehabilitated currently

UGANDAMAIN-LINE AT JINJA REOPENSThe main-line to Kampala from Kenya, closed near Jinja on 14 May following the collapse of an embankment due to a blocked culvert, was reopened to traffic on 16 June. During the four weeks that the line remained inoperable, freight was offloaded at Iganga and taken forward by road. According to Rift Valley Railways (RVR) project manager Glenn Kleyn, quoted by New Vision (published in Kampala) a new three-metre diameter galvanised iron culvert has been installed, to provide adequate outlet for stormwater to drain into Lake Victoria, about a kilometre downstream.

Kleyn said the repair work was being done at mile 323. In addition, the company is investigating a structure at mile 289 towards Busembatia.

“It (mile 289) is not in any immediate danger but we are investigating and drawing up designs,” he told the paper.

UGANDA RATES INCREASERift Valley Railways (RVR) has increased freight rates between Mombasa and Kampala from $US80 per tonne to $110. Former managing director Roy Puffet explained in July: “The tariff adjustment was driven by continued upward costs of energy, petroleum products and steel. The price of diesel has gone up by 24% in the last eight months and there is double digit inflation as well as dollar revaluation”.

RVR commercial manager in Kampala, Geoffrey Tindimwebwa says the rates will still be lower than those charged by road freight hauliers. “Our rates have been steady since last October before the fuel prices rose and the price of steel spiralled,” he points out, whereas the truckers raise rates every time the fuel price changes. “Also, we have had a negative result from the weakening dollar as most of our rates are in that currency. It has been losing value, while the prices of our inputs have been going up.”

ZAMBIARSZ TAKEN TO TASKIn an editorial, The Times of Zambia takes Rail Systems of Zambia (RSZ), the concessionaire running Zambian Railways, to task for buying “brand new motor vehicles worth $US1.4 million”, while apparently falling short in service delivery. “While the company has every right to purchase vehicles for operations, we feel their priorities are misplaced,” the paper writes.

“Gone are the days,” it laments, “when the railway network was the most reliable mode of transport in Zambia. “It was so reliable and cheap, that the rail line was Zambia’s favourite mode of transport, offloading goods and passengers in remote areas where roads were inaccessible.

“The failure by RSZ to provide safety and reliability has forced many Zambians to abandon rail transport in preference for the faster and more reliable road transport. It was hoped that when Zambia Railways was concessioned to RSZ, things would change for the better.”

[RSZ inherited a sorely run-down system which is taking a great deal of time and money to put right. The rosy past of railways in the country dates back to the days when it was called Northern Rhodesia – but nobody will want to remember that. – editor]

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ZIMBABWENEW NRZ SERVICEThe National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has introduced a new weekly passenger service to Chicualacuala, 500km south-east of Bulawayo on the line to Maputo. The existing Wednesday train to Chiredzi has been rescheduled to leave Bulawayo at 14:00 on Wednesday instead of 21:00. Arriving at 04:00 on Thursday, it returns at 05:00 to Mbizi junction, and continues from there to Chicualacuala. Following a 14:00 departure, it runs back to Bulawayo, arriving on Friday morning. The Chiredzi-Bulawayo service retains its former timing on other days of the week.

4 - 6 March 2009Cape Town

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of the new GE locomotives at Kano. He was quoted saying: “The arrival of the locomotive engine in Kano signifies the success of the first steps in our efforts towards launching a new era in rail transport system in Nigeria.”

The delivery of the unit from Lagos - one of five received by the NRC recently - was in preparation for launching a Challowa-Kano passenger service. Refurbished coaches are being supplied from Zaria.

The loco, writes Phillip Oladunjoye in the Daily Independent, quoting Sijuwade, is a 2,500hp General Electric 7FDL12-cylinder C25-EMPD model weighing 105.9 metric tons, with a maximum speed capability of 103km/h. “The robustly built locomotive has design adaptability to the corporation’s existing 1,067mm cape gauge. All C25-EMPD locomotive engines were specifically manufactured to be resilient and dependable in tropical domain such as ours. They comply with Nigeria’s weight per axle and clearance characteristics.”

In readiness for the Kano launch, Sijuwade said the corporation has completed construction of two new halt stations with platforms in Gandu-Albasa and Zawa-ciki. Signal and telecommunication facilities have been provided between Challowa and Kano, and six level crossings have been equipped with barriers.

SUDANNILE VALLEY RAILWAYSCitadel Capital, a leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa with $US8.3 billion in investments in 15 industries spanning 14 countries, has signed a right-of-way agreement with the Sudanese Railway Corporation (SRC), the first step in fledgling rail operator Nile Valley Railways’ (NVR) entry into the promising Sudanese market. The agreement will allow NVR to offer freight services on SRC lines under a revenue-sharing agreement. SRC operates more than 4,500km of route linking the key coastal city of Port Sudan to Khartoum, Wadi Halfa on the Egyptian border and to South Sudan.

TANZANIATRL OPERATIONS RESUMETanzania’s 2,706km Central Line has resumed operations, after completion of emergency repairs following huge damage caused by the El Nino rains that fell towards the end of 2009. Minister for infrastructure, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, was quoted by East African Business Week saying that repairs cost some $US11 million).

LOANS TO TANZANIAThe African Development Bank (AfDB) has lent Tanzania $US235.45 million to finance infrastructure projects, including a feasibility study on the proposed Tanzania-Rwanda-Burundi standard-gauge railway. Senior finance ministry official, Ramadhani Kijjah, was quoted saying: “The construction of the Isaka-Kigali line in Rwanda and Keza-Musongati line in Burundi will contribute to the

AFRICA UPDATE

with the inner two within a building. Various hoardings have been erected describing the work and the overall impression is of a well thought-out project. So far the only large exhibits are three magnificently restored teak bodied coaches and a van. Staff at the station indicated that locomotives would also be included and this probably explains why Henschel Garratt 972 was brought down from Gondola to Maputo. Standing outside the museum was a complete Hitachi railcar.

“Apart from the new line laid into Moatize station, the derelict locomotives there do not appear to have been touched. The survival of the two Mallets is remarkable and given the scrapping of all SAR Mallets, they should be preserved, the perfect place being the new CFM museum.”

NAMIBIATRANSNET STRIKE CRIPPLED TRANSNAMIBStruggling as it is with serious financial problems, TransNamib – the national railway of Namibia – was said to be losing N$500,000 every day as a result of the 18-day Transnet wage strike in South Africa during May 2010. It had a “paralysing impact” on building and mining, with supplies of cement and ammonia brought in from South Africa at a standstill.

Under normal circumstances, TransNamib spokesperson, Ailly Hangula-Paulino, was quoted saying, between 300 and 400 Transnet wagons are to be found on the Namibian rail system. While the strike continued, this rolling stock could not be moved back to South Africa, carrying cargo such as zinc concentrate from Namibian mines. This resulted in “very substantial” losses and commodity shortages.

NIGERIAPLIGHT OF NIGERIA’S RAIL PENSIONERSAccording to Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC) managing director, Adeseyi Sijuwade, the verification of pensioners begun in November 2009 has created a dependable database reflecting the numerical strength of retirees (19,033) and the financial implications of their unpaid pensions. Those who have died were included, through verification of their next-of-kin. He appealed to the government to facilitate the payment of arrear railway pensions by means of legislation and appropriation during the second quarter of 2010.

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Sijuwade said, is favourably disposed to finding lasting solutions to the plight of railway pensioners and hoped that arrears would be paid off by the end of 2010. The matter has been dragging on for many years, causing great hardship to retirees. Hundreds, according to representatives struggling on their behalf, died in the interim without seeing monies due to them.

NEW GE LOCO ARRIVES IN KANONigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) managing director Adeseyi Sijuwade has welcomed the safe arrival of the first

Preserved loco at Maputo station.

New Nigerian GE loco.


AFRICA UPDATE

implementation of an efficient and low cost transport system which will promote regional integration, development of areas of high mining, industrial and agricultural potential”. He explains that “East Africa’s railways have suffered years of mismanagement and underinvestment by government, leaving them dilapidated, inefficient and costly to run.”

TUNISIAMAGHREB RAIL CONFERENCE IN TUNISRepresentatives of railway companies from the five Maghreb countries - Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia – participated in a conference in Tunis at the end of May whose theme was “The railway as a vehicle for Maghreb integration”.

Transport minister, Abderrahim Zouari, called for unifying technical choices in the Maghreb railway and high-speed train projects, and recommended the creation of a Maghreb institute for the exchange of information and sharing of expertise.

Arab Maghreb Union (Amu) secretary-general, Habib Ben Yahia, said that the extension of the Maghreb railway network, to ultimately link the Libyan city of Tobruk with the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, has always been among the Maghreb’s unification projects.

UGANDARVR IMPROVES FREIGHT SECURITYRift Valley Railways (RVR) is enhancing security measures to ensure safer movement of containers to the inland container depots (ICD) at Nairobi and Kampala. To date, RVR acting chief marketing and commercial manager, James Nganga, explains, 81 container wagons have been fitted with protective steel bars, including a complete train of 40 vehicles.

Theft from containers in transit, according to the Kenya international freight and warehousing association (Kifwa) and the Kenya shippers’ agents’ association, is masterminded by a cartel that manipulates port clearing systems and breaks into containers. Recent investigations by Kifwa indicate that containers destined for Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are most at risk because of the lengthy time they are in transit.

ZAMBIACHIPATA RAILWAYThe Zambian government has not yet released the K5 billion to the ministry of works and supply which is needed to continue construction on the new Chipata- Mchinji (Malawi) railway. According to secretary to the

treasury Likolo Ndalamei, work has been done on 3km of line in the shunting yard, and on the terminal building, which includes offices for the stationmaster, police, Zambia Revenue Authority and the department of immigration. Water and power utilities have been connected, landscaping has commenced and all the level crossings have been completed.

Preliminary discussions on train services have been held with government officials from Malawi and Central East African Railways, (Cear), the concessionaire that runs the Malawi railway network.

ZIMBABWECHINESE LOCOS FOR ZIMBABWEThe National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has signed a deal with China North for the supply of 14 diesel-electric locomotives.

“We are still to finalise payment modalities for the company to start manufacturing,” NRZ public relations manager Fanuel Masikati told the Xinhua news agency at the end of May. There are also “long-term plans” to buy passenger coaches from China. These would be used on routes linking Harare-Bulawayo, Bulawayo-Beitbridge, Harare-Bindura and Harare-Chinhoyi.

STEAM TO PLUMTREEOn 9 May, according to the Chronicle (published in Bulawayo), more than 300 people, about 250 of them local tourists, boarded a special steam safari train on a trial run from Bulawayo to Plumtree. “The train departed from Bulawayo main railway station at 10:00 amid pomp and fanfare,” the paper reported. “The tourists were offered world-class treatment by the well-organised railway staff.

“The train arrived in Plumtree at 14:00, where tourists were treated to a sumptuous lunch which included a braai. Guests were treated to entertainment punctuated with refreshments and at 15:30 it was time for departure back to Bulawayo where it docked at 19:00.”

National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) public relations manager Fanuel Masikati said this was a trial run ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa: “Steam engines are popular with tourists and we are going to run them more often. The response has been overwhelming as we had people from as far as Harare who came to board the train. It is also popular with visitors from the United Kingdom, Unites States of America, New Zealand and Australia.” He said there were about 50 bookings from outside the country from tourists who were coming for the World Cup.

Currently NRZ has three operable steam locomotives. It is looking to refurbish seven others.

Derelict coaches at Dar-es-Salaam. Photo: Richard Grönstedt.

Signal technicians at work in Tunisia.

Photo: Richard Grönstedt

Garratt taking water at Bulawayo. Photo: NRZ.


SA RAIL NEWS

TRANSNET RESULTSTransnet Freight Rail (TFR) achieved better-than-expected results in the financial year to 31 March, despite a decline in export coal traffic and general freight. Revenues rose by 11.8% to R20.6 billion in the year ending 31 March, helped by an increased share of the intermodal market and rising bulk volumes towards the end of the period.

Export coal volumes decreased by 0.2% to 61.8 million tonnes, principally because of operational issues on the railway. However, export iron-ore volumes continued strongly upwards, rising 21.5% to 44.7 million tonnes - a 41% increase over 2005 levels. General freight declined from 78.4 to 72.1mt.

A successful cost cutting campaign saw operating expenses rising only 3.2% to R13.4 billion.

CONCESSIONING THE BRANCH LINESTFR has confirmed plans to concession under-utilised routes to private operators. Expressions of interest were invited recently for the operation of 7,300km of branch lines, only 3,928km of which are currently operational.

Each concessionaire will be required to make the necessary investment, maintain the lines to agreed standards, and operate rail services, which might be freight or passenger, or a combination. The possibility of leasing rolling stock to concessionaires is being looked at.

Allen Jorgensen, media and research officer at the Railroad Association of SA, was quoted saying: “The conditions attached to the concessions have to be attractive enough to warrant the extensive capital spend needed to achieve commercial viability. In some cases, kilometres of track have been stolen and the operators would virtually have to build from scratch.”

Jorgensen pointed to the dependence of many lines on connectivity with the main-lines: “If your service cannot connect with the Transnet service then your business could collapse.” Appointment of a regulator to ensure fairness of competition, he feels, would be “a vital precursor to entering such private-sector partnerships.”

[Jorgensen, who has published extensively on railways, was a director of the former Alfred County Railway (ACR) running inland from Port Shepstone - South Africa’s first experiment (1988) at independent operation of a branch line. It closed some years ago and ACR was liquidated in 2004, in the face of untenable competition from heavy rigs on the road – and other reasons which make for uncomfortable reading. - Editor]

CAPE TOWN STATION REVAMPED & CENTURY CITY OPENS On 8 June, VIPs, including transport minister Sbu Ndebele, were welcomed to an inspection of Cape Town main station,

newly revamped at a cost in excess of R300 million, by acting Metrorail regional manager Lindelo Matya. The VIPs then travelled by train to Century City, 9km to the east, where a R450m newly constructed station was officially opened on the Monte Vista-Bellville line. The facility is serving as one of several specially designated park-and- ride sites during the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup events.

STATION OPENS AT MOSES MABHIDA STADIUM On 7 June, a R140 million new station was opened at Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium by transport minister Sbu Ndebele and KwaZulu-Natal transport MEC Willies Mchunu. Construction began in July 2009. The station will also serve the Absa rugby stadium nearby.

South African Rail News

ACR’s popular Banana Express.

Cape Town station – revamped at a cost of more than R300 million.

New R450m station at Century City, Cape Town. Note overhead concourse. Photo: Metrorail.

Two class 91 diesel locomotives have been acquired by Rail Road Logistics (RRL) in the OFS, Jacque Wepener reports from Welkom. They were formerly Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) nos 91-011 and 91-012, now RRL 91-01 and 91-02 respectively. The original 610mm gauge bogies are still in use – apparently they were cut in half and widened to suit 1,067mm. Each class 91 (GE 700hp type UM6B, 1973) was seen hauling eight loaded hopper cars – about 672 tons altogether - but appeared to be “struggling”. Photo: Jacque Wepener.[Subsequently it was reported that at least one reworked axle had failed in service. - Editor]

CLASS 91 DIESELS IN THE OFS


SA RAIL NEWS

GLENCAIRN & SIMON’S TOWN - not yet back on the mapEarly in November 2009, exceptional spring tides under-mined Cape Town’s scenic coastal railway to Simon’s Town. The 6.3km of single track south of Fish Hoek had to be closed to traffic, with buses substituting for the trains.

Damage was less extensive along the first 3.6km to the little station at Glencairn. During February 2010, piles of seasand covering much of the track were removed and test running between Fish Hoek to Glencairn commenced. At the time of going to press, it had not been decided when public service to Glencairn was to be resumed, but a trainset has been parked at Glencairn at weekends, Repairs to the line nearer Simon’s Town will take somewhat longer, with the cost estimated in the region of R10 million.

On 30 March, Metrorail’s Riana Scott told Railways Africa: “Approval in principle has been provided to fund the rehabilitation. The consulting engineers have completed the design and tenders for the work are in progress. The work entails repairs to the walls and track formation, concrete sealing/infill of voids under the wall foundation caused through scouring by wave action and the provision of a rock revetment to protect the walls and wall foundations from wave action.

“Rock is being sourced from Somerset West and we are negotiating with Transnet Freight Rail to convey the material to Simon’s Town. It is hoped to re-open the line during May”.

During much of May, unfortunately, railway staff went out on strike and the line is still not open.

Flashback: the line near Glencairn at Christmas 2009. Photo: Malcolm Bates.

Monday 15 March 2010: 10M3 set “H” - one of the first trains to approach Glencairn in nearly four months. The train-replacement bus to Simon’s Town

can be seen on the road above. Photo: Malcolm Bates.

End of the line for now: the view south from Glencairn’s single platform. Photo: Paul Kilfoil.

Map courtesy of Metrorail.

COMPELLING INSIGHT FROM ORIGINAL RESEARCH

www.railcorpstrat.com


footbridge is being adapted to provide a “skywalk” facility for pedestrian movement between west Heideveld and east Gugulethu. As with Langa station, the structure comprises pre-cast beams and slabs to ensure minimal interruption to rail operations during construction.

ATHLONEThis station lies between the Athlone CBD to the east and a residential area on the west. Due to budget constraints, phase 1 only allowed the construction of a small ticket office on the eastern side, together with 2m ramps up to the platform. When phase 2 is implemented, commuters will cross from one side of the station to the other on an enclosed steel bridge. It is intended that the western stair/ramp system will be accommodated within a retail development.

The Heideveld and Athlone phase 1 upgrades were due for completion before June 2010. Completion of the Langa project is scheduled for September 2010.

Should all stations move into phase 2 then the overall estimated project budget including professional fees will be R290m.

Upgrading Athlone, Heideveld and Langa stations in Cape Town: A 2010 World Cup Project

SA RAIL NEWS

In February 2007 Jeffares & Green (J&G) were appointed lead consultant in a professional team consortium for upgrading three suburban rail stations - Athlone, Heideveld and Langa - in the Cape Town metropolitan area. In initial extensive studies to determine spatial requirements, J&G’s traffic engineers projected anticipated commuter volumes to the year 2025.

Financial constraints resulted in the project being split into two phases, with work in phase 1 concentrated on Langa station (with the greatest number of users), and much reduced schemes at Heideveld and Athlone.

Construction began during the first half of 2009 at Langa, followed by Heideveld and finally Athlone, at budgets of approximately R50m, R20m and R5m respectively. As the work involved the rebuilding of existing stations, commuter and train movements had to be accommodated at all times with a minimum of disruption. At both Langa and Heideveld, all beams and slabs spanning tracks were precast and superstructure consists of prefabricated structural steel.

LANGA

The station lies between the sprawling residential area (on the south) and Epping 1 Industrial area (to the north). An inadequate existing pedestrian subway connecting the two areas is being replaced with a 10m wide “skywalk” bridge structure. Its 100m length provides not only for the present railway but also a possible future airport line, as well as a bus rapid transport route on the northern side. In addition to stairways, ramps are provided for special needs passengers (SNPs).

A 1,500m² ticket and circulation concourse is being constructed above the main platforms.

HEIDEVELD In phase 1 at Heideveld, SNP access via ramps is being provided to the outer platforms as well as a 4m wide bridge structure carrying them, via lifts, to the other platforms. Stairs leading across the same structure are provided for all other passengers. The phase 1 budget did not allow for a concourse, but provision has been made for this, should phase 2 proceed. To the north, an existing Metrorail steel

CAPETOWN

Wynberg

Retreat Kapteinsklip

Philippi

Nyanga

Heideveld

Bellville

Athlone

Langa

Khay-elitsha



Gautrain’s Sandton-airport branch opened for public service on 8 June 2010, with crowds of local residents literally swamping the stations for a chance to ride

SANDTON-MARLBORO SANDTON STATIONAt 45 metres (15 storeys) below ground level, Sandton station is Gautrain’s deepest. Work rescheduling foresaw the station opening for public use on 8 June, in time to convey spectators arriving by air for the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup.

At mid-April, construction was well advanced in the cavern section between the south and north shafts, as well as within the shafts themselves. This included construction of the various platforms, technical and operational rooms, together with the escalator and lift shafts and stairways located within the shafts. M&E installations were in progress and escalators linking the station entrance to the underground platforms had been installed. Tracklaying within the station was complete and operational. Tiling of platforms was well advanced and wall tiling to the platform areas was in progress. Erection of structural steelwork frame forming the station entrance structure on the corner of Rivonia Road and West Street was in hand.

Construction continued on the adjacent multi-level parkade structure. Brickwork, plastering and M&E installations within the completed areas was in progress.

Civil works, tracklaying and associated electrical & mechanical railway infrastructure works within the tunnels between Marlboro Portal and Sandton Station were all complete, with Electrostar trainsets test-running to and from the airport on a regular basis.

MUSHROOM FARM PARKThe temporary shaft at Mushroom Farm Park was provided to give access for tunnel construction in both north and south directions. All work carried out from this shaft has been completed and site establishment facilities have been removed. Backfilling of the shaft has been completed, and the community park reinstated, landscaped and upgraded.

MARLBORO PORTALApart from final finishing and some landscaping, work in this area is complete.

MARLBORO PORTAL EASTWARDSViaducts 1A and 11 crossing the Jukskei River and Far East Bank Drive are both complete, including track and catenary.Between Marlboro Portal and the N3, the various culverts, retaining walls, the three bridges over Zinnia Drive and final

layerworks are all complete, including track and catenary. Construction and rail-related installations in this area are substantially complete, apart from some finishing work and landscaping.

MARLBORO STATIONAt Marlboro Station, internal finishes (including floor and wall tiling and painting, as well as glazing of the external walls of the concourse and over-platform links) and curtain wall glazing were well advanced at mid-April. Concrete and brickwork, painting, structural steel, roof cladding and platform parapets were all complete. Internal finishes were well advanced, and tiling of the platforms was approaching completion. The electronic display boards were being tested, and ticket vending machines installed. Track was in position through the station and used daily for test running. The station was opened for public use on 8 June.

Work continued at the bus terminal, including kerb laying on the parking deck. Brickwork and plastering for the station perimeter wall was complete and installation of the steel palisade infill sections had started. Erection of shade cloth carpark canopies was substantially complete.

Construction and backfilling had been completed on a series of underpasses where the two pairs of railway tunnels cross beneath the N3 highway alongside the Marlboro Drive bridge - just to the north of Marlboro station, both carriageways of the N3 had been reinstated to their original positions. Reinstatement of temporary access ramps, closure of the additional bridge span and landscaping remained to be completed.

MARLBORO-AIRPORTCivil construction work is complete along the whole of this section which includes eleven bridges, three viaducts and a number of other structures, including the platforms for a future station at Modderfontein. Remaining work is limited to final finishing and landscaping in some places.

VIADUCTS 13 & 14 Viaduct 13 over Centenary Way in Modderfontein and Viaduct 14 over Zuurfontein Road are both finished, with trackwork and catenary in place on both, and operational.

By the end of January 2010, twin-track lines were in place along the entire length of the east-west route from behind Linbro Park to the airport station. Electrification was complete and operational

VIADUCT 15 & RHODESFIELD STATION At 1.5km, Viaduct 15 – now complete - is the longest on the east-west line. It supports both the Rhodesfield and airport

GAUTRAIN RAPID RAIL LINK

GAUTRAIN CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS

Test train at Rhodesfield Station.

Bus terminus at Marlboro Station.


station platforms and carries the double track over the R21/R24 road network. Tracklaying and overhead catenary provision are complete and operational.

The Rhodesfield station platforms are elevated, located approximately one third of the way along Viaduct 15, directly above the existing Metrorail lines running between Isando and Kempton Park.

The Rhodesfield station entrance, concourse and parking area are at ground level on the eastern side of the existing railway. Construction of the station were approaching completion at mid-April. The platforms, access ways and the station buildings were all substantially complete as were internal finishes and the installation of technical equipment. Tiling to both platforms was approaching completion and the station was opened for public use on 8 June.

Externally, the stormwater attenuation pond was complete and parking area construction, apart from the area immediately surrounding the station concourse, was well advanced. Bus canopy structures were approaching completion and erection of carport structural steelwork was in progress. On the western side of the elevated station, emergency escape staircases had been installed.

Construction on a new Metrorail station, immediately adjacent to the Gautrain facility, was virtually complete, with track in position. It will provide commuters with a convenient transfer link between the Gautrain and Metrorail systems.

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The platform structures, structural steel platform canopies and roof cladding were all finished by mid-April, including the installation of tinted glass closure screens. Erection of the three sets of emergency evacuation staircases at the ends of the platforms was complete. Finishing work within the station concourse shell was almost finished, as were electrical and

mechanical installations. Platform tiling was in hand. The public address system, ticket vending machines and fare gates had been installed and were undergoing final testing. Track through the station as well as overhead electrification was complete, and trainset test running continued on a daily basis.

The station was fully functional and open to the public from 8 June.

PARK STATION TO SANDTONPARK STATION At mid-April 2010, the station roof and concourse slabs as well as the platforms were all substantially complete. Internal brickwork and plastering was well advanced at both concourse and platform levels. Good progress is being made with wall tiling, together with mechanical and electrical (M&E) installations, including the escalators. At the parkade structure, work is in progress on the final (sixth) leveldeck slab. Erection of precast parapets on the lower levels has commenced.

Reinstatement of Wolmarans Street is complete; the road was reopened to traffic on 16 January 2010. Earthworks for reinstatement of Smit Street are in progress, together with preparations for the remaining utility relocations in this area.

Construction of the cut-and-cover section linking the northern end of the station box to the tunnel portal is in progress

All tunnel excavation - a total length of approximately 15.5km from Park Station to Marlboro Portal - was completed in September 2009. Civil works and tracklaying within the tunnels between the portal and Sandton Station are complete, as is the installation of associated electrical and mechanical infrastructure. Within the remaining tunnel section to Park Station, civil works continue, including final lining, invert slabs, cable duct installation and walkways, together with the installation of mechanical and electrical equipment. Tracklaying southwards from Sandton Station has begun.

The underground works include the construction of seven emergency access shafts at intervals along the single-track rail tunnel between Park Station and Sandton. These shafts will provide access by emergency services personnel to the tunnels below. At the bottom of some shafts, safe havens are being constructed where passengers can detrain and gather in the event of an emergency. Work continues at each of these shafts.

EMERGENCY SHAFT E1 (HILLBROW)Excavation and shaft lining at shaft E1 (80 metres deep) has been completed. Work in the safe haven and technical rooms located at the bottom of the shaft continues. Construction of the surface head-house structure is in progress.


Rhodesfield Station on Viaduct 15.

Parkade at Park Station.

Ticket readers at platform access point.



EMERGENCY SHAFT E2 (THE WILDS, HOUGHTON)Excavation of the shaft to its final depth of approximately 50 metres is complete, as is the 236 metre adit (cross passage). Construction works continue in the safe haven and technical rooms at the bottom of the shaft.

EMERGENCY SHAFT E3 (RIVIERA)Shaft construction work and the head-house structure on the surface are substantially complete, and M&E installations are in progress. Being a shallow shaft with direct access to the surface, there is no safe haven necessary at the bottom.

EMERGENCY SHAFT E4 (HOUGHTON)Shaft construction and the head-house structure on the surface are substantially complete and M&E installations are in progress. Being a shallow shaft, 16m deep, with direct access to the surface, there is no safe haven necessary at the bottom.

ROSEBANK STATIONBackfilling over the station-top slab is approaching completion, and continues over the cut-and-cover structure at the northern end. Oxford Road above the station structure is to be reinstated within the next few months. Platform structures, brickwork and plastering are all substantially complete, with painting and plumbing at both platform and concourse levels well advanced. Wall tiling continues within the station. Elevators have been positioned within the station box and M&E installations are in progress.

At the parkade structure on the corner of Oxford Road and Baker Street, foundations and retaining walls are complete. Placing of precast slabs to the first floor deck is under way. Preparations are in hand for casting of the ground floor surface bed within the parkade, and erection of precast parapets has commenced.

EMERGENCY SHAFTS E5 (DUNKELD, ROSEBANK), E6 (ILLOVO) AND E7 (RIVONIA ROAD, SANDTON) Construction is in progress on the technical rooms at the bottom of these shafts, and also on the safe haven at the foot of Shaft E5.

MARLBORO-DEPOT-MIDRANDViaduct 2 over the Modderfontein Spruit and two adjacent bridges over the future Frankenwald and Maxwell Roads are complete, together with the erection of noise barriers along this section. Track and overhead electrification is operational on all three structures

MIDRAND DEPOTThe administration buildings for both train and bus depots are finished and the installation of equipment for the operations control centre in the train depot administration building has been completed. This will manage signalling, telecommunications, automatic fare collection, traction power and overhead distribution, cctv cameras and maintenance, using high technology systems. The train maintenance workshops, including electrical and mechanical installations, are all complete, as are other depot facilities, including the washbay for cleaning the trains, sand-filling equipment, stabling platforms, track lighting and entry gates.

Construction is in progress on the bus maintenance depot, located in the area previously occupied by the precast yard (now dismantled). Construction of the workshop, canteen, vehicle wash facility, fuel bay and apron slabs is in hand, while refurbishment of the bus administration building - previously used as site offices for the precast yard – is finished. External concrete apron slabs and roadworks are also substantially complete.

TRACKLAYINGThe laying of stabling sidings at the depot, including overhead electrification and all associated railway installations, such as the signalling system, is complete, energised and operational. Main-line tracklaying and ballasting, together with catenary installation, is proceeding northwards from the depot, using specialised, highly mechanised equipment. Rails are welded into 216 metre lengths and transported on specially equipped wagons. Once placed in position on concrete sleepers, they are welded together to form a continuous rail.

Tracklaying is complete from Sandton Station to Dale Road in Midrand on the north-south line. It has been energised electrically and is fully operational. Tracklaying from Dale Road northwards commenced late in 2009. By the end of March 2010, tracklaying had progressed to the vicinity of the Samrand Road Bridge, to the north of Midrand Station.

ROLLING STOCK ASSEMBLY AND TESTINGFollowing a specialised construction and assembly process at Bombardier Transportation’s facility in Derby, UK, Gautrain’s first shipment of two completed rail coaches arrived in Durban on 29 November 2008. After further deliveries, testing of the first complete four-car trainset began during February 2009.

The first 15 coaches, together with body shells and major components for the rest of the fleet, were manufactured in Derby, and all have been despatched to South Africa. Following a successful skills transfer programme, local technicians are working on the assembly of the remaining 81 coaches at the Union Carriage and Wagon Partnership in Nigel. By the end of March 2010, 66 vehicles had been delivered to the Gautrain depot. This equates to 16 complete four-car trains.

Dynamic testing of trains has been under way during the past year on the approximately 7km from behind Linbro Park to Midrand, which has served as a test track. Test running was later extended to Sandton station, as well as on the entire airport branch.

MIDRAND-CENTURION-PRETORIAVIADUCT 3North of the depot, Viaduct 3 over Allandale Road and the adjacent bridge over the future K60 road are both complete, as are all other bridges, construction works and railway installations up to Dale Road in Midrand, with only minor finishing works outstanding.

MIDRAND STATION

At Midrand station, roof cladding to the platforms and over the concourse is complete. Interior tiling and finishing works, together with M&E installations, are well advanced. Platforms are substantially complete and platform tiling is to commence shortly. Interior tiling and finishing works

Track laying equipment at Midrand Station.The European-style buffers and couplings will be noted.


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At the John Vorster Viaduct, a significant achievement has been the casting of the final pair of balanced cantilever deck closure segments. Deck construction at this viaduct is now complete. Cable trough construction, parapet erection and finishing works continue. At the Jean Avenue Viaduct, deck construction is approaching completion. The final pair of deck segments has been cast, with completion of the last pair of closure sections to follow during April 2010. Cable trough construction is in hand, parapet erection has commenced and finishing works are in progress.

Construction of supporting piers and abutments at both the John Vorster and Jean Avenue balanced cantilever viaducts is complete.

CENTURION STATIONThe elevated Centurion station platforms are located on Viaduct 5, immediately adjacent and parallel to West Street. The concourse buildings and parking area are at ground level. The viaduct piers and deck spans on which the station platforms are being constructed have been completed.

The station building works, including platform access stairway and lift shaft construction, are substantially complete. Reinforced concrete escape stairs are being constructed. Platform and concourse roof cladding is complete, as is erection of curtain wall framing to the concourse area. Glazing of the West Street façade is in hand. Within the concourse, M&E installations and finishing trades are in progress, with floor tiling well advanced and wall tiling in hand.

Earthworks and layer works continue in the parking and bus terminus areas. Construction of the bus terminus buildings has commenced.

VIADUCT 6 OVER EEUFEES ROADAt Viaduct 6, piling at the southern abutment is finished and five of the six deck spans are in position.

SALVOKOP AND PRETORIANear Salvokop at the approach to Pretoria, construction of the cut-and-cover structure crossing beneath the Ben Schoeman highway is complete.

PRETORIA STATION Buildings and platforms at Pretoria station are substantially complete, with work on the associated technical and operational facilities in progress. Internal finishing work continues, while curtain wall framing and glazing are approaching completion.

Parking area construction continues in the area formerly occupied by the McCarthy building, which has been demolished. Refurbishing of the coach washing shed has begun. This structure, which has historic significance, has been incorporated in the station design.


continue, together with M&E installations. Platforms are substantially complete and tracklaying is in progress.

The upper car parking area has been surfaced and carport structures are being placed in position. Earthworks continue on the lower level bus terminal area, where canopy and walkway structural steelwork erection is well advanced. Layerworks on the new section of Grand Central Boulevard, which forms the access road into the station, is in hand.

From Midrand Station to the Technopark area at Centurion, civil works are approaching completion. Fencing, landscaping and finishing work continue. Catenary masts have been erected along most of this section and tracklaying reached the vicinity of the Samrand Road Bridge by the end of March.

VIADUCT 4 Viaduct 4, which crosses Rietspruit and Olifantsfontein Road South, is complete.

CENTURION AREAVIADUCT 5 OVER THE N1 & BEN SCHOEMAN Viaduct 5 carries the elevated line through Centurion, forming the link between the balanced cantilever viaducts crossing the N1 highway at John Vorster interchange in the south and the Ben Schoeman highway at the Jean Avenue interchange in the north. It supports the elevated Centurion station platforms, located approximately midway along its length. The deck spans of this viaduct comprise precast concrete segments, erected using purpose-built steel launching girders and then stressed together to form the deck spans.

At the end of March, four spans remained to be completed at the northern end. Erection of segments at the remaining spans of Viaduct 5c are continuing, to link it to the balanced cantilever viaduct over Jean Avenue.

Construction of the in-situ balanced cantilever deck sections at both the John Vorster and Jean Avenue Viaducts is progressing steadily.

Viaduct 5 crossing John Vorster Avenue in Centurion.

Glazing of the West Street and parking area façades at Centurion Station.

Construction of the in-situ balanced cantilever deck over Jean Avenue.


and construction of retaining structures necessary to widen the existing embankments, are in hand.

HATFIELD STATION At Hatfield, lateral support and excavation of the southern embankment is complete, and construction of the station itself is in progress. The concourse slab extending over both the existing Metrorail tracks and the future Gautrain lines has been completed. Preparations are in hand for platform construction below the concourse level, and erection of structural steelwork for the concourse building to be located on top of this slab is in progress. All eight levels of the parkade structure have been cast, precast parapet erection is well advanced and the adjacent lift shaft is approaching completion. M&E works within the parkade structure are in progress.

At the Grosvenor Street bridge, the final deck span has been cast. Construction of management facilities within the bus terminus area is in hand.

PRETORIA-HATFIELDVIADUCT 7 The deck to the section that will carry the Gautrain lines across Nelson Mandela Boulevard is well advanced and parapet erection is in progress. Pier and trestle beam construction is finished on the remaining sections of this “Y-shaped” structure that crosses above the existing Metrorail tracks, together with placing of the M-beams for the bridge decks.

Between Gautrain’s Pretoria and Hatfield stations, a number of road bridges crossing the existing Metrorail railway have been lengthened, to accommodate the new tracks which will run parallel. These include bridges at Ridge Road, Grosvenor Road, Cilliers Street, Bourke Street, Walker Street, Walton Jameson Avenue, and Lynnwood Road. Finishing work continues on some of these. Extensive lateral support work in the cuttings, together with the earthworks


Concourse and ticket offices at Pretoria Station.

Hatfield Station parkade: Metrorail lines in foreground.

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On 25 May, three suburban electric trailers and a motor coach were gutted in the yards at Braamfontein after dark in an unexplainable fire that was probably arson.

TRAIN ALIGHT NEAR DURBAN On 9 May, a suspected overhead wire break set a motor coach alight on a Metrorail commuter train travelling from KwaDukuza (Stanger) to Durban. Metrorail spokeswoman, Thandi Mkhize, was quoted saying there was an explosion in the coach’s overhead traction equipment. The driver stopped the train on a bridge near Effingham Road station, and panic-stricken passengers started to jump off, many sustaining injuries. Reports of people jumping from a moving train, Metrorail said, were incorrect. Altogether 38 were admitted to hospital, four reportedly hurt seriously.

An official was quoted saying that circuit breakers which should have cut power when the catenary grounded onto

MISHAPS & BLUNDERS

RAISED TIPPER DOWNS WIRESA truck with its tipper raised tore down the catenary wires at Blackheath level crossing between Bellville and Eersterivier on 28 May, halting all trains on the Strand and Stellenbosch lines. Technicians managed to restore the overhead in time for the Friday afternoon peak period, with buses filling in during the interim.

MUIZENBERG BRIDGE DRAMAOn 3 June, 15 people were hurt, one badly, when an Africa Travel company touring coach turned from Main Road, Muizenberg, into Atlantic Road and jammed under the railway bridge. The driver was arrested for reckless driving as the height of the bridge is clearly marked with advance warning signs. Passengers on board, en route from Cape Point to central Cape Town, included 14 German tourists and one Austrian. Those injured were taken to hospital and their consulates were notified.

INDIAN COLLISION KILLS 70After Maoist extremists in India called for a series of “black days” starting on 28 May, the South Eastern Railway took precautionary measures including running a light engine over a threatened section of line in West Bengal prior to its use by five trains. Immediately afterwards, the Jnaneshwari Express bound for Mumbai derailed. A freight train then ploughed into the coaches, killing “at least 70” and injuring nearly 150. Passenger train operations were immediately suspended on the sections Kharagpur-Rourkela and Kharagpur-Adra between 22:00 and 05:00 daily.

DERAILMENTS DURING TRANSNET STRIKE The locomotives and five wagons of a westbound fuel oil train derailed on the main-line near Burlington about 20km west of Durban at 03:30 on 12 May, during the Transnet strike. According to the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR), rail clips had been loosened along some 100 metres of track, pointing to deliberate sabotage and suggesting that specialised knowledge – and equipment – played a part. On 10 May, 13 people were arrested in Durban for public violence and intimidation, in connection with the strike. During the same week there were other derailments - near Witbank and Empangeni - under suspicious circumstances, and on 18 May the entire privately-operated Speno rail grinding train derailed at Tinley Manor on the Natal North Coast after rail clips had been removed from about 70m of track on a sharp curve. Some of the specialised vehicles turned over. “Damage is estimated at between R23 million and R40 million,” our correspondent reports, “but the real problem is that this critical piece of track maintenance equipment will be out of service for at least six months, so the effect will be felt countrywide for the next year or more.”

A further attempt at sabotage was thwarted when a security patrol found that track clips had been removed from a

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.

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the train failed to do so, as a result of which “massive sparking and arcing” took place, burning holes in the roof.

TRAIN ON FIRE: RANDFONTEINCable theft during the night of 3-4 June stranded an early Friday morning Metrorail electric commuter train at Randfontein, 45km west of Johannesburg. Angry passengers, realising they would be late for work, set two coaches on fire. Metrorail spokeswoman, Nana Zenani, said the passengers’ behaviour had put assets and employees at risk. “This means that as from this afternoon [Friday 4 June], Prasa will suspend train operations on that line until further notice.”

TRAINS COLLIDE: KEMPTON PARKShortly before 21:00 on 5 June, a goods train derailed after running into a passenger set in Kempton Park. Netcare911 spokesman, Chris Botha, was quoted saying that two people sustained minor injuries and 18 “miraculously escaped unharmed.”

CLASS 34 DERAILED AT ALLANRIDGEAt about 05:00 on 2 June, main-line diesel-electric 34 058 – en route to shunt silos at Allanridge, OFS - ran onto the ground. Running hood-first, and in the dark, the crew did not notice that the rails had been stolen during the night. The big unit ploughed into the ballast, burying itself up to the running board. The Kroonstad breakdown crew attended and 34 067 came 29km from the Welkom shunt to assist in recovering the loco.

MOSCOW UNDERGROUND BOMBS KILL 38According to an Associated Press report, “female suicide bombers” were responsible for massive blasts at two central Moscow underground stations on 29 March. The bloodbath left “at least” 38 people dead and more than 60 hurt. The first explosion occurred shortly before 08:00 at the Lubyanka station, situated under the headquarters of the Federal Security Service, the KGB’s main successor agency. About 40 minutes later, a second explosion hit Park Kuitury station near Gorky Park. In both cases, the bombs went off as trains were pulling in with doors opening.

Associated Press continued: “The carnage, blamed on rebels from the Caucasus region, follows the killings of several high-profile Islamic militant leaders there. The blasts come six years after Islamic separatists from the southern Russian region carried out a pair of deadly Moscow subway strikes.

Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for the bombing last year on a passenger train en route from Moscow to St Petersburg”.

The Moscow underground is the world’s second busiest after Tokyo, used by seven million commuters every weekday.

METRORAIL BREAKDOWN: TRAIN PELTED WITH ROCKSJust after 07:00 on 30 April, two crowded trains were pelted with ballast stones by angry commuters whose own train broke down, leaving them stranded near Ysterplaat station, 5km east of Cape Town’s main station. Nine passengers were injured.

CHINA: TUNNEL COLLAPSESRescuers were working around the clock on 26 March in a search for 10 workers trapped in a collapsed railway tunnel in North China’s Inner Mongolia region, some 400km from Beijing. An estimated 2,000m3 of rocks and dirt caved in. The tunnel forms part of a railway being built to link Ulanqab City’s Jining District and Baotou City.

INDIANA DERAILMENTA 128-wagon Norfolk Southern coal train headed from Chicago to Monroe, Michigan, derailed 38 vehicles in Waterloo, about 80km east of Elkhart, on 27 March. Hundreds of tons of coal spilled onto the track and adjacent ground. Extensive disruption was caused, with Amtrak cancelling two intercity passenger trains and detouring others via alternative routes. Freight traffic was badly affected, as about 100 trains use the route every day.

DERAILMENT WEST OF SPOKANEThe derailing of 16 empty freight wagons at Edwall, about 45km west of Spokane in Washington state on 1 June, blocked the main-line to Seattle. Some 300 metres of track were damaged as the train pulled out of the siding, disrupting both Amtrak passenger services and goods trains. Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) spokesman, Gus Melonas, was quoted saying that the wagons remained upright and that nothing hazardous spilled.

LANDSLIDE CAUSES FATAL CHINESE PILE-UPAt least 19 people died and 71 were injured on 23 May when a Shanghai-Guilin passenger train derailed at Jiangxi in south-east China, after running into a mass of dirt and debris brought down in a landslide following heavy rain. The locomotive and eight of the 17 coaches overturned in the crash, near the city of Fuzhou. Some 2,000 rescuers including

MOSES LAKE DERAILMENT

On 6 March, 25 wagons loaded with grain derailed near Wilson Creek, about 30km north of Moses Lake in Washington State. The 110-wagon train was on its way to Seattle from Florence, Minnesota. Though nobody was hurt, the derailment blocked the single track, used by about 20 freight and Amtrak trains every day. Freight traffic between Seattle and Spokane was rerouted and Amtrak used buses to carry passengers between Seattle and Spokane.

CANADIAN DERAILMENT

On 30 March, three locomotives and nine freight wagons derailed in Oshawa, 60km east of Toronto. All trains travelling between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal were disrupted and a number of passenger services were cancelled. Nobody was injured.

MISHAPS & BLUNDERS


fire-fighters, police and soldiers worked through the night to free survivors and extract bodies, using heavy cutting equipment. More than 280 were evacuated from the train and 53 were freed from the wreckage. About 8,000m3 of mud and rock had been cleared from the track by 24 May. Over 40,000 residents in the area were evacuated as a result of the flooding.

LOWBED GROUNDED ON CROSSING DERAILS EXPRESSOn 13 May, a lowbed trailer carrying a bulldozer grounded on the rails at a crossing in Mebane, North Carolina. Southbound Amtrak train 73 ran into the obstruction at an estimated 100km/h, derailing the locomotive and three coaches. The locomotive fuel tanks ruptured and caught fire, and one coach was also involved. Thirteen people were injured. “At least” 8,000 litres of diesel fuel leaked out following the crash, but hazmat teams were able to contain the spill.

Upon impact, the lowbed rolled over several times and its cargo was tossed to the side as the train derailed. Firefighters used foam to put out the blaze. The force of the crash tore down power lines, trees, and smashed the crossing gate equipment.

LOCO & 20 OFF IN KENTUCKYOn 23 May, a locomotive and 20 vehicles in a 90-wagon train en route from Salem, Illinois to Nashville, Tennessee derailed while rounding a curve near a level crossing in Robards, Kentucky. CSX crews worked quickly to reopen the line, as traffic on one of the company’s main-lines was brought to a standstill.

AMTRAK FUEL SPILL DISRUPTIONOn 16 May, the fuel tank on the locomotive of a westbound Amtrak passenger train was punctured in Whitestown, just west of Utica in central New York state. About 4,000 litres of diesel fuel spilled from the locomotive and all rail service was shut down. CSX spokesman, Gary Sease, said the damage was caused by an extension arm of a maintenance train on the adjacent track, which was extended too far. Crews cleaning up the spill were expected to be there “all week”.

Some of the approximately 100 passengers on the Amtrak train say they heard a loud noise and saw flames before the train was stopped and they were evacuated. No one was injured. Buses transported passengers to the Utica station to await other trains.

CESSNA STOPS BY AT METROLINK STATIONA pilot from Ohio thought he was having engine trouble when he put his light plane down at the Fairview Heights MetroLink station in St Louis on 2 May. It turns out he had run out of fuel, authorities said.

Darrick Helmuth, 27, was flying a company Cessna from Ohio to Oklahoma and was going to land at St Louis Downtown-Parks Airport in Cahokia for a stopover. But before reaching the airport he started to have engine trouble and told the control tower he wouldn’t make it. Steve Johnson, chief investigator with the St Clair County Sheriff’s

Department, told the press: “He saw some lights in the area where he was and thought it would be a safe place to land the plane.”

In fact Helmuth – who was uninjured - made his emergency landing in a bus lane. The plane’s wing clipped a small tree and came within 10 metres of 800,000-volt high- voltage overhead wires that feed to the light rail line. A call reporting a plane in the parking lot of the Fairview Heights MetroLink Station was received by the sheriff’s department at 22:45, Johnson said. Vehicles parked nearby were undamaged.

SPECTACULAR DERAILMENT IN WIND RIVER CANYONOn 12 May, both locomotives of a 63-wagon train conveying general freight derailed about 8km south of Thermopolis at the north end of the Wind River Canyon in Wyoming. The lead unit, which ran into a boulder “the size of a pickup truck”, landed up in the river, with the following engine halfway down the 15 metre embankment on its side. Both crew members were taken to a local hospital for observation.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) spokesman, Gus Melonas, told press representatives that the cargo included paper products and lumber, but that 17 wagons had been empty.

DERAILMENT NEAR SMITHS FALLS IN CANADAThe 12 May derailing of a Canadian Pacific (CP) freight train near Smiths Falls in Ontario caused extensive track damage, resulting in Via Rail passenger traffic being diverted to buses. Travellers bound for Ottawa from Toronto to Ottawa were taken by train as far as Brockville, where they transferred to road transport. Altogether seven wagons left the rails. Track repairs were expected to take at least two days, according to Via Rail spokesperson, Catherine Kaloutsky. Intending passengers in possession of tickets were offered their money back. There were no injuries in the accident, CP spokesperson, Breanne Feigel said.

OSLO TRAIN RUNAWAYTrain runaways don’t only happen at Centurion. On 24 March, three dock workers were killed when 16 wagons broke loose at a freight terminal in Oslo, Norway and careened downhill for 5km. Derailing, they slammed into a building. The Norwegian Accident Investigation Board blames both terminal workers and railway officials for the accident, citing their failure to anticipate and prepare for the possibility of a runaway train. The report says terminal workers did not secure the wagon brakes, and it criticised railway officials for failing to put in place “acceptable strategies” for stopping runaway trains.

DURBAN SKYCAR BROKEN AGAINAt Easter, the “skycar” - a funicular that climbs an arch more than 100m high and 350m across at Durban’s new R3.1 billion Moses Mabhida stadium - stopped working again, this time due to a fault in the data cable. “Unfortunately we have to order a replacement from overseas,” Julie-May Ellingson, the head of Durban’s strategic project unit and 2010 programme, explained. “Regrettably, delivery has been significantly delayed due to the Icelandic volcanic eruption which

Crossing collision at Mebane, North Carolina.

Wind River Canyon derailment in Wyoming.

Unusual incident at Whitestown, New York state.

Durban’s funicular “skycar”.

MISHAPS & BLUNDERS


prevented flights from Europe from operating.” The skycar has broken down several times since its launch in November. Sightseers left stranded have had to face “an arduous and terrifying climb” down the structure which has no handrails,

FATAL DERAILMENT AT WASHBURNOn 25 March, two of five Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western Railroad locomotives heading north about 5km south of Washburn, Wisconsin, derailed on the banks of Turtle Creek when the ground beneath the track gave way. One crew member was trapped in the wreck and died at the scene. The other was taken to a Bismarck hospital. Railway personnel worked to contain fuel leaking from one of the engines, to keep it from spilling into the creek.

CHATTANOOGA DERAILMENTOn 23 May, 28 wagons in a CSX train derailed in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The city’s fire department was quickly on the scene. According to the department’s information officer, Bruce Garner, “these trains often will carry large quantities of hazardous materials, so it’s certainly a concern for us.”

This time no evacuations were necessary since the only substance spilled was ferrous sulfate, a chemical used in water treatment plants which is not hazardous to people.

Gary Sease, of CSX, said the derailment involved two “high volume” lines. One was re-opened late on 24 May but it was expected that the other would remain unusable for some time.

KHAYELITSHA DERAILMENTOn 11 June, the first day of the Soccer World Cup, part of a 12-coach 8M commuter train derailed on the Khayelitsha line between the Philippi and Stock Road stations in Cape Town. The set was split to remove the non-derailed coaches but some three hours elapsed before normal service resumed.

NIGERIAN DERAILMENTSoon after leaving Kano station en route to Nguru in Yobe state, a passenger train derailed on 10 June. No serious injuries were reported but some 400 passengers were left stranded and several nearby roads were blocked. The police together with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were deployed at the scene and a recovery team from Zaria attended to clear the line.

MEXICAN CRASH KILLS 13On 15 June, according to a BBC report, “at least 13” people were killed when a freight train ran into another in north-western Mexico. “TV footage showed dozens of wrecked train carriages that had been burnt in a fire caused by the initial crash. Officials said most of the victims were undocumented migrants hitching lifts on the trains, and that at least five more people had been injured. One of the trains was carrying a cargo of corn, which was scattered across the accident scene.”

A government official told Reuters that “someone didn’t change the tracks correctly,” suggesting that the collision

took place at a crossing loop where the points were incorrectly set.

“Hundreds of migrants from Central America,” the BBC explained, “risk their lives to travel across Mexico by rail, hoping to cross illegally into the US. Many hitch rides on cargo trains, sometimes falling to their deaths.”

MEXICAN MANAGERS STOLE RAIL LINESFive “mid-level” managers at Mexico’s state railway, which is facing liquidation, have been accused of stealing nearly 600km of railway and selling the material to help settle company debts. Between 2003 and 2005, apparently, the parastatal was unable to deliver all the scrap it promised to four companies following a public auction – hence (says secretary for public administration, Salvador Vega Casillas) -the managers ordered that the lines be lifted. The material, comprising “mainly high-grade steel rail scrap” weighing about 52,000 tons, was worth $US140 million – considerably more than the debt – yet there is no record of money changing hands.

MISHAPS & BLUNDERS

Committed to our clients’ success

20 Lautre Rd, Stormill, Roodepoort PO Box 103 Maraisburg, 1700Tel: (011) 761-2400Fax: (011) 474-3582Email: [email protected]

• Track Renewal

• Rail Planing

• Rail Welding

• Ballast Profiling

• Track Construction

• Turnout Replacements

• Formation Rehabilitation

• Track Condition Evaluation and Analysis

• Track Condition Measuring and Recording

• Ballast Cleaning, Open Line and Turnouts

• Ballast Tamping, Open Line and Turnouts

CD448 Plasserail - RAadv.indd 1 2/9/09 1:25:33 PM

Class 15F no 3117 heading a steam-hauled excursion derailed in a cutting on 20 June, due to the theft of some 30 sleepers. There were more than 600 passengers on board the run from Pretoria to Cullinan operated by Friends of the Rail (FOTR). Fortunately the train was running very slowly on the approach to Cullinan station - otherwise the consequences might have been much more serious. The loco, tender and water tankcar toppled sideways but no injuries were reported. Retrieving the engine posed a number of logistical problems and the extent of repair needed has yet to be ascertained.

CULLINAN STEAM TRAIN DERAILED



Committed to our clients’ success

20 Lautre Rd, Stormill, Roodepoort PO Box 103 Maraisburg, 1700Tel: (011) 761-2400Fax: (011) 474-3582Email: [email protected]

• Track Renewal

• Rail Planing

• Rail Welding

• Ballast Profiling

• Track Construction

• Turnout Replacements

• Formation Rehabilitation

• Track Condition Evaluation and Analysis

• Track Condition Measuring and Recording

• Ballast Cleaning, Open Line and Turnouts

• Ballast Tamping, Open Line and Turnouts

CD448 Plasserail - RAadv.indd 1 2/9/09 1:25:33 PM

SPECIAL STAMP ISSUE

At the same time, descriptive text was put together and Jean spent many hours liaising with artist, Hein Botha, finalising the miniature sheet comprising ten stamps, each with a face value of R2.40, and two different first-day covers.

The special stamps may be obtained from philatelic counters at main post offices or by mail (prices on application; order handling fee of R5.00) from:

Philatelic servicesPrivate Bag X5050001 PretoriaPhone 012 845-2814/5; Fax 012 804-6745; e-mail: [email protected]

THE STAMPS 1. The first official train to operate in South Africa carried

passengers from Durban to the Point (3km) on 26 June 1860, hauled by this diminutive 0-4-0. Named “Natal”, it is displayed today on the city’s main station.

2. The 2-6-2+2-6-2 class NGG16 was the final design of 610mm gauge Garratt, built between 1937 and 1968.

3. In 1948 and 1949, a hundred 2-8-4 class 24 locomotives were built for use on lightly laid track, notably branch lines and also main lines in South West Africa (now Namibia).

4. In 1953 and 1954, ninety 4-8-4 class 25 locomotives entered service. These condensed their own steam for re-use, enabling them to run long distances in the Karoo where water is scarce.

5. One of fifty 4-8-4 class 25NC non-condensing locomotives that arrived together with the condensers, no 3450 was rebuilt with a number of refinements including a gas producer combustion system that radically improved operating efficiency. The engine was painted red and dubbed “The Red Devil”.

6. Between 1953 and 1958, 120 class GMA and GMAM 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives were acquired, effectively the ultimate South African Garratt design. For some thirty years they were widely used on both main and branch lines.

7. Between 1972 and 1978, 170 class 35 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives were supplied by General Electric and 250 by General Motors, to replace steam on branch lines. Rated horsepower varies between 1,600 and 1,650.

8. Between 1978 and 1985, 31 class 9E electric locomotives were built in South Africa for service on the 861km Sishen-Saldanha heavy-haul export ore line, electrified at 50kV AC. These Co-Co units are rated at 5,450hp.

9. Late in 2009, the first of 100 class 19E electric locomotives entered service. These dual-voltage Bo- Bo units for the heavy-haul export coal line run on both 3kV DC (north of Ermelo) and 25kV AC (the rest of the line to Richards Bay). They are rated at 2,940kW continuous power output.

10. The 24 four-car multiple-unit sets for the 160km/h new 1,435mm gauge 25kV AC “Gautrain” line being built between Pretoria and Johannesburg (80km, including a branch to the airport) repeat Bombardier’s successful Electrostar design, extensively used in the UK.

MINIATURE SHEET MARGIN:The miniature sheets containing the stamps feature a number of line drawings in the margins. From the top, clockwise:

Class 4E 1Co-Co1 electric locomotiveBetween 1952 and 1955, 40 class 4E locomotives (3,030hp, 3kV DC) were built for the 257km Cape Town-Touws River section of the main-line to Johannesburg. As the 13km tunnel through the Hex River mountains was not completed until 1989, these units spent their entire working lives on the old pass (25km of 1:40) with its tortuous 100m radius curves for which they were actually never intended.

Class 15E Co-Co 50kV LocomotiveCurrently under construction for the 861km Sishen- Saldanha heavy-haul iron ore line, 44 class 15E locomotives (50kV AC) are rated at 4,400kW.

Class NG15 2-8-2 narrow-gauge (610mm) steam locomotiveThe 21 outside-frame locomotives delivered for the 610mm-gauge lines in South West Africa (now Namibia) between 1931 and 1957 came to be known as the “Kalaharis”. Following gauge conversion in 1960, they were transferred to Port Elizabeth, where two examples remain in use on “Apple Express” excursions today.

Class 7E Co-Co electric locomotiveBetween 1978 and 1979, 100 class 7E locomotives (4,340hp, 25kV AC) were introduced for both freight and passenger service. Variants classified 7E1 (50), 7E2 (66)and 7E3 (85) joined them between 1979 and 1985.

A suggestion by Boon Boonzaaier - a special issue of stamps to mark the 150th anniversary of South African railways in June 2010 – was accepted by the post office some months ago. Boon drew up a list of suggested locomotive classes to be represented and in collaboration with Jean Dulez, photographic and other material was submitted from which designs could be prepared.

SOUTH AFRICAN RAILWAYS 150TH YEAR STAMPS


SPECIAL STAMP ISSUE

Class 23 4-8-2 steam locomotiveBetween 1937 and 1939, 136 class 23 steam locomotives were introduced. They distinguished themselves hauling passenger and freight trains on the Touws River-Beaufort West and De Aar-Klerksdorp sections throughout World War II and after. Displaced by the arrival of the class 25 between 1953 and 1954, the 23s were transferred to other lines, all being withdrawn by the early 1970s.

Class MH 2-6-6-2 Mallet steam locomotiveJust over 50 articulated Mallet locomotives were placed in service between 1909 and 1918. The largest of these, the class MH of 1915, were then the most powerful locomotives on 1,067mm gauge in the world. They were compounds, high pressure steam from the boiler passing

successively through the rear cylinders and then (at lower pressure) the larger front cylinders. During comparative tests in 1922, the Garratt principle proved itself beyond question, and no further Mallets were ordered.

Class NG15 2-8-2 narrow-gauge steam locomotive(Description as above; side elevation shown here)

Class 34 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotiveBetween 1971 and 1980, just over 500 class 34 diesel- electric locomotives were supplied, 294 by General Electric and 208 by General Motors, to replace steam on main-lines. Rated horsepower varies between 2,750 and 2,875.

13

THE FIRST DAY COVERS

Germiston based Reefsteamers preservation group operated this class 12AR 4-8-2 'Susan' on local day trips, mainly as far asMagaliesburg. The class 12s were an early SAR steam design dating back to 1912. This locomotive type underwent boilermodifications in the 1950s and has also recently since been mechanically refurbished.

Germiston-based Reefsteamers preservation group operates this class 12AR 4-8-2 “Susan” on local day trips, mainly as far as Magaliesburg. The class 12s were an early SAR steam design dating back to 1912.

This locomotive type underwent boiler modifications in the 1950s and was recently mechanically refurbished.

The class 6E1 Bo-Bo 3kV dc electric locomotive, of which 960 have locally built, still provide the mainstay of motive power on theTransnet main electrified lines. More than 500 of these have now been refurbished into upgraded class 17E and 18E units. Thesemaphore (mechanical) signals have now largely been phased out of the rail network in favour of more modern colour light

signalling or else radio operated traffic control systems.

The write-ups, inside the covers and printed herewith, was done by Jean Dulez .

The class 6E1 Bo-Bo 3kV DC electric locomotive, of which 960 have been built locally, still provide the mainstay of motive power on Transnet’s electrified main-lines. More than 500 of these have been refurbished as upgraded class 17E and 18E units.

Semaphore (mechanical) signals have been largely phased out on the rail network in favour of more modern colour-light signalling or radio-operated traffic control.

FIRST-DAY COVERS:


WWW.RAILWAYSANDHARBOURS.COM

The write-ups inside the first-day covers were prepared by Jean Dulez.


COOKS : THE DEFINITIVE TIMETABLECook’s timetables are obtainable from Thomas Cook’s offices in major cities. Prices on application. www.thomascook.com [email protected]

Intrepid train travellers Sherlock Holmes and his contemporaries in British literature depended heavily on Bradshaw for planning journeys to fashionable weekends (or murder scenes) in obscure country backwaters. Three decades before 1900, Bradshaw’s extremely comprehensive guide already ran to 1,000 pages.

In 1873, Cooks – soon to prove a worthy competitor - appeared on the scene. Inaugural editor John Bredall - aiming his format at the traveller rather than regular commuters (or the more casual user of trains) - introduced condensed tables, much easier to read, which omitted smaller place names. The concept, like so many successful ideas, relied largely on simplicity.

Bredall* went further, putting in summary tables that linked key continental destinations. Finally, his easily followed diagrammatic maps were winners. This successful formula has been followed ever since, the March 2010 editions together running to very nearly 1,000 pages.

Cook’s Continental Timetable became a monthly in 1883. Always in the forefront, it adopted the 24-hour clock in 1919. The original title was retained until 1977, when – seeing American train times had been included since 1974 – the scope was broadened and it was renamed Cook’s International Timetable. In 1981, this was split into separate editions – Continental and Overseas. Today’s titles are “Cook’s European Rail Timetable” (which devotes most of its 576 pages to trains) and the 475-page “Overseas Timetable” (which recognises rail service shortcomings in many countries – notably in Africa – by usefully listing bus timings).

While serifed fonts such as Times Roman may be easier to read in ordinary text, sansserif makes for more legible tables. Cook’s changed from Times to Gill Sans in 1954, then to Univers, then Ariel. From 1981 to the present, the more important changes were in typesetting. This was a formidable undertaking in the days of hard metal, involving thousands of pieces of type, and laborious proofreading. True, filmsetting was adopted in a small way as far back as 1978, but nothing compares to today’s desk-top facility and the slickness of operation eventually attained through full computerisation. Vertical lines between tabulated times were abolished in the 1980s, finally achieving the clean, space-saving effect that characterises Cook’s today. Data is transmitted electronically to the printers, making possible last-minute changes.

The original founder of the organisation, Thomas Cook himself, had been a Baptist preacher. His first essay into organising travel involved hiring a train to carry temperance supporters to a meeting in Loughborough, England. Many other organised excusions followed. Before long, food and lodging came to be included, with the term “Cook’s tour” gaining an entry in the Oxford English dictionary. Cook took his first group to Europe in 1855, but waited for the Suez Canal to open before tackling an eight-month tour of the world.

For more than a century, the maps were hand-drawn: K C Jordan was the artist for many years, followed by his daughter. Eventually, when desk-top publishing arrived, the staff were enabled to compile and amend maps in-house,

using the same computer programme – Advent 3B2 - which was employed for setting tabular matter.

Although Cook’s always concentrated on rail services, airline timings were included until the second world war. After the war, ocean steamer tables were transferred to a new Cook’s Ocean Steamer List. However, today’s European Timetable does include 39 pages on marine schedules.

Other information that did not survive the war (the space was needed) included details of golf links and hints on how to dress when travelling. Maps printed after the war showed each route numbered correspondingly to the relevant timetable, a very useful idea. Previous issues had referred to tables by page number.

For many older users of the publication, Cook’s timetables were synonymous with the name J H Price, the editor from 1952 to 1987. Price, who was widely travelled (including South Africa) contributed immense personal knowledge to his work. He brought about many important changes - such as saving postage costs through the use of 40gsm paper – a tip he learned from an Italian timetable.

Cook’s is notable not only for its incredibly detailed timetables (and atlas-rivalling index) but for meticulously listing distances and fares. How they manage to keep these up to date in today’s constantly changing scene is difficult to imagine. The latest monetary conversion tables are not forgotten, nor matters like climatic conditions. Passport and other travel regulations (for every conceivable country) are a special feature in the March/April overseas edition.

All contents are updated monthly in the case of the European tables, every second month for the overseas tables. Africa enjoys a modest show-in within the selection of city plans, which show the location of main stations in Cape Town, Dar-es-Salaam, Tunis and Cairo.

Contemporary editor Peter Bass can be justly pleased with this incomparable, very impressive production. Predecessors Bredall, Price and others would be proud of him.

- LRD

* The first editor of Cook’s Continental Timetable was paid £25 for issue no 1, plus a penny for each copy sold.

REVIEW


Tel: +27 (0)12 391 1304 Fax: +27 (0)12 391 1371 Email: [email protected]

Specialists in maintenance, repair, upgrade, conversion and manufacture of rolling stock, components and rail support services.

CD470 TRE-adv-Class39-200.indd 1 4/30/09 10:09:54 AM

RAILWAY HERITAGE

Preservation is a vital part of the pictureBy John Batwell

CAPE WESTERN PRESERVATION SOCIETY, CAPE TOWNWork by a small but active core of dedicated members on this group’s on-going project, veteran 4-6-0 class 6J no 641, is making slow but steady progress despite the usual problems - lack of funds and active manpower. Completely stripped, with all cladding removed and sandblasted, the locomotive is awaiting patch welding and painting. Coupling and connecting rods have been removed, the dome taken off for machining/welding, the regulator taken out for final checking and the Stephenson gear removed for inspection and clean-up. A visual boiler check has been done by an inspector. The tender has been completely de-rusted both inside and out, rust-treated and the water tank rubberised. However, all steam chest studs are rusted badly and need to be replaced.

REEFSTEAMERS, GERMISTONThe class 12AR 4-8-2 no 1535, previously reported with a small tube blown, is back in service. The green-liveried, Sandstone-owned GMAM Garratt no 4079 is due for boiler inspection whilst class 15F no 3046 has undergone a steam test and now returned to service.

SANDSTONE HERITAGE NEWSBesides the vandalising of Steamnet 2000 locos at Kimberley, all brass and copper was hacksawed off 15F no 2910 and 15CB no 2071 during a break-in at Sandstone’s storage shed in Ficksburg. The locomotives had been complete with all spares and pipes intact, ready to run had the boiler certificates been renewed. Though five people were arrested, the loss is estimated at R650,000. Current plans are to close this facility and find a new home for the motive power and rolling stock.

Meanwhile, in Bloemfontein, work progresses on restoring narrow gauge Orenstein & Koppel 0-6-0 (works no 12493), built in 1934. Being a 500mm gauge locomotive, it will not be available for local use, but Sandstone hopes to find it a safe home. Rebuilt Cockerill class NGG 16 Garratt no 88 was back in steam on the farm in April.

Apple Express double-heading of NG15 2-8-2 no 119 and Sandstone Estates’ Falcon 4-4-0 no 106 took place out of Port Elizabeth during Geoff’s Trains 2010 tour.

NRZ PREPARES THREE STEAM LOCOSThe National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has been preparing classes 16A no 611 and 14A no 525 for safari work, together with class 15 no 395 - using sisters 414 and 424 for spares. Class 15 no 416 is also receiving attention at Bulawayo, using spares off 421, while superheater tubes from class 14A no 519 have been fitted to 525. Loco no 611 was used on a public train to Plumtree in May.

Geoff’s Trains will be running in Zimbabwe this winter. German operator Farrail cancelled its planned August tour owing to insufficient bookings.

ZAMBIA’S BUSHTRACKS CHANGES LOCOEarlier this year, this Livingstone-based operator was using veteran 4-8-2 class 10 no 156 on its upmarket dinner rail service once again as the 4-8-2 class 12 no 204 was undergoing motion repairs. The North British-built class 10, initially on Rhodesia Railways, is a survivor of the former Zambesi Sawmills Railway.

MAIN LINE STEAM TRUST, NEW ZEALAND - ZIMBABWE GARRATTFormer National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) 2-6-2 + 2-6-2 class 14A Garratt no 509 was not steamed in late 2009 after all as the rolling stock she was to haul was not refurbished in time. A planned conversion of the loco to air-braking is reported, and possible fire-grate modification, as coal could fall through the (currently) widely spaced bars. Conversion to oil-burning could well be on the cards.

HENSCHEL GARRATT FOR NEW MAPUTO MUSEUMExhibits at a new museum being created at Maputo station by Caminhos de ferro do Moçambique (CFM – the state railway & harbours) are to include three magnificently restored teak bodied coaches and a van, together with Henschel-built 4-8-2 + 2-8-4 Garratt no 972 which was recently moved down from Gondola depot on the Machipanda-Beira line. Similar to the South African class GMA/M class and one of five acquired in 1956 (at that time painted maroon), it was refurbished at Bulawayo’s Zeco Works in the 1980s and outshopped in red. A very derelict no 971 was photographed at Gondola by local enthusiasts two years ago.

‘RED DEVIL’ SECURITYThe unique 4-8-4 class 26 loco no 3450 “Red Devil”, stored at Cape Town station, has had its cab “caged” in an effort to prevent the perennial problem of theft from heritage steam engines. Loco no 3450 originated as a class 25NC, but was much modified by David Wardale on a shoe-string budget.

Class 16A 2-8-2 + 2-8-2 Garratt no 611 is earmarked to work during Zimbabwe’s winter safari season this year. Photo: G E Cooke

North British class 10 4-8-2 no 156 is working the Livingstone, Zambia, dinner trains once again along the old logging branch line. Photo: G E Cooke

CFM Henschel-built Garratt no 972, long stored at Gondola, has now found a new home in Maputo. Photo: Paul Ash


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The Scaw Metals Group (Scaw) is an international group, manufacturing a diverse range of steel products. Its principaloperations 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:• 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

Scaw has produced castings for the railroad industry since 1921and is a technological leader in this field and has participated in thedevelopment of unique designs such as the cast adaptor sub-frameassembly used in the “Scheffel” radial axle truck.

Scaw manufactures castings under licence to various licensors, butis an open foundry with the capability to undertake work accordingto individual customer requirements. The company has producedthousands of sets of steel castings for freight cars for both the localand export markets. These include side frames and bolsters thathave been approved by the Association of American Railroads foruse on North American railroads.

Scaw supplies globally and also offers nationwide distributionin South Africa through its strategically located branchesthroughout the country.

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RAILWAYS ADVERT FINAL 9/12/08 10:02 Page 1

END OF THE LINE

CORRESPONDENCESAD SIGHT AT MOSSEL BAYDear editorIt’s so sad! Drove through Mossel Bay the other day and saw loads of old carriages literally rotting away in a train “graveyard”. Surely these coaches/carriages and engines should be stored somewhere safer?? ie away from the ravages of salty sea air? – Alison (by e-mail)

THE LAWYERS LOOK TO US FOR HELPDear editorWe have received a public notice this morning (7 May 2010) from one of our employees concerning the proposed strike at Metrorail and Shosholoza Meyl starting 10 May 2010.

From this notice it seems the strike might be for a whole month? Could you please confirm this, in order for the company to make alternative arrangements. – Ms B van Zyl, Head: HR Dept,

Smith-Smith Attorneys

[Unfortunately Railways Africa couldn’t help: we mislaid our crystal ball. – Editor]

OMAN RAILWAY PROJECTDear editor,Interoperability issues and integration of railway standards and specifications within the planned GCC network is essential to ensure optimum construction and operational costs. Will the Oman railway project be constructed to standard 1,435mm as railways are in other Middle East states? There are some reports that the Omani network may be broad gauge - these are presumably incorrect? Please advise. – John Pearson

[The proposed railway in Oman is to be an integral part of the new GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) network, which is to extend some 2,000km from Salalah on Oman’s southern coast to Kuwait’s border with Iraq. We understand it is to be standard gauge throughout. - Editor]

“SOWETO MONORAIL STILL AN OPTION”Dear editorMy country lives with break-of-gauge problems. South Africa has started the rot by building the Gautrain at standard gauge instead of Cape narrow gauge. In Queensland and Western Australia we run 140-160km/h trains on Cape narrow. Whyever did Gauteng choose standard gauge?

For Soweto, surely it is cheaper to build a new conventional rail line than a non-integrated monorail? A fast Cape narrow gauge service running at 150-160km/h but able to switch

on to other parts of the Joburg network makes much more sense, than an isolated stand-alone system. – Grant Robinson (Australia)

VARIABLE GAUGE AXLESDear editorIn December 2009, Railway Gazette International had an article about variable gauge axles (VGA) in Japan, allowing a train to move effortlessly from one gauge to another. The significance about the Japanese equipment is that it works for narrow gauges like those in Southern Africa, There may be a problem with narrow gauge VGA because of lack of space between the wheels for the brakes, the VGA equipment and - in the case of multiple units and locomotives - the traction motors. Broader gauge VGA such as those found around Europe do not have this problem. So while this VGA gear handles 250km/h, it is not clear if it can handle 80km/h freight. Neither is it clear if the locking devices on the VGA wheels will handle three gauges at the same time, which would be really useful in Africa where there are three main gauges. VGA systems, mainly for broader gauges, have been around in a quiet way for decades. But mention of this technology in Railways Africa, and the World Bank, which pontificates on what gauge should go where in Africa, are conspicuous by their absence. VGA is not the only method of overcoming the break-of-gauge (BOG) quagmire, there are about 10 - albeit ugly - methods in all. But if Africa moves towards standard gauge on its new main-lines, such as Dar to Rwanda, having VGA and the other methods in hand provides options, flexibility and therefore potential cost savings. RA should send its ace reporter to investigate! – Shall Ford (Australia)

BRANCH LINE REVIVAL

We’re going to concession the branch lines;Can’t think why we didn’t before.True, small fry were way too much bother;The Big Time excites us much more.

We’re going to concession the branch lines,Though what’s left is a pitiful sight,With the jungle reclaiming its birthright And thieves who lift rails in the night.

When one looks at American practice, Instructive examples abound.For years, rural feeders have prosperedAnd everywhere, “shortlines” are found.

We’re going to concession the branch lines,Though one can’t see the rails for the trees.Look - reviving rural endeavourWill stimulate SMMEs.

We’re going to concession the branch lines,And meet all the challenges posedLike moving the goods from the junctionsShould keep TFR on its toes.

The coaches are the last remains of the Union Limited, a priceless heritage train restored at the initiative of Ian Pretorius, and operated under his capable management on regular “Golden Thread” tours from Cape Town to Oudtshoorn - lucrative earners of dollars, pounds and Deutchmarks until Spoornet pulled the plug. Photo: Dylan Knott.

Japanese trial VGA bogies. Photos courtesy Railway Gazette International.


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