Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has announced that the government is working on a comprehensive strategy to revitalize South Africa’s rail network.
Speaking to the National Council of Provinces in Parliament, Creecy emphasized the importance of rail transport for investment and economic growth as part of the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) service delivery mandate.
Creecy highlighted the potential of rail as a reliable and accessible backbone for the country’s passenger transport system.
“I think we all agree that rail has to be a backbone of the passenger transport system because it has the potential to be kept safe, accessible and reliable. ….and this investment needs to come from government, from lone financing and also from private sector participation,” said Creecy.
According to the Department of Transport, South Africa has the most extensive rail infrastructure in Africa. Prasa owns 2 280 kilometers of South Africa’s rail network and uses some 22 000 kilometers of rail track under the control of Transnet.
She also stressed the need for significant investment from both the government and the private sector.
A national rail master plan has already been developed, laying out a 20-year strategy for the country’s rail system.
“We are working on a national rail master plan and that national rail master plan will lay out for the next 20 years the national rail system we want to create. On the question of devolution, we are looking into it and obviously devolution…let me say that we think that planning by municipalities devolution and provinces in their transport system is crucial. With regard to devolution, I suppose the question is going to be threshold in terms of passenger numbers and finances,” Creecy added.
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Regarding policy development, Creecy said, “That policy is being developed, and we hope by the end of the year it will be ready for public comment.”
She also mentioned the involvement of the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), saying “With regards to upgrades, we have already given Sanral, a number of roads that are key economic arterial roads in provinces and I am in the process of informing provincial premiers and MECs of transport on that process. We are setting up this working group with Salga which we think is going to be very important in terms of making sure that the money that is supposed to be spent on upgrades on municipal roads is spent on that.”
Transnet has 585 train stations and a total fleet of 4 735 coaches, with an overall staff complement of 18 207.
Government is set to spend in the region of R51 billion on New Rolling Stock and R4 billion on new Hybrid Locomotives in the next 5 years.
Rail, freight, passenger and port capacity continue to decline due to severe constraints in domestic and regional trade, says the DoT.
Rail infrastructure has been beset by regulatory and organizational challenges, as well as theft of cabling, rail, and station infrastructure, adds the department.
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Additional Reporting: Bongisipho Magcaba