Prasa closes three lines
REHABILITATION: AGENCY WILL RESTORE STOLEN CABLES, DAMAGED SUBSTATIONS
Gauteng to get four priority corridors which will be ready to run train services by end of October.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) will terminate services of three lines in Gauteng for the rehabilitation and restoration of electrical cables and traction substations that were vandalised or stolen during the level 5 hard lockdown.
“This will also allow for Prasa to run more efficient train services and to introduce the electrical motor units [electrical trains] which form part of Prasa’s modernisation programme,” the agency said.
Prasa has acknowledged that the disruption of these services will come at a huge cost to rail commuters, but the benefits will be worth the pain felt in the interim.
Appointed contractors will take over the lines at the dates published in the information box, to start the rehabilitation and restoration work.
Prasa said sustained theft and vandalism of its rail assets has disrupted train services across all provinces.
“Notwithstanding the cancellation of security contracts, the situation was further exacerbated by the travel bans imposed during the Covid level 5 hard lockdown which left our infrastructure vulnerable.
“In April last year, Prasa devised an accelerated corridor approach in recovering services, focusing on the top 10 high-volume passenger rail corridors for initial resumption of services,” the agency said.
“This essentially means that corridors will be brought back into service in phases. The 10 corridors were selected based on the demand for services, the extent of damage and the time required to recover and rehabilitate the infrastructure.”
This phased-in approach in recovering the lines is based on the extent of damage and time it would take to rehabilitate the damaged infrastructure.
“Where we had the most vandalism and theft, we were able to run limited services using diesel locomotives. In Gauteng, Prasa is currently working on four priority corridors which will be ready to run train services by end of October,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, work has begun to recover the services on the central line between Cape Town and Langa, while the process to relocate illegal settlements on the rail tracks is underway.
This process is led by the Human Development Agency as the implementing agency of the relocation project.
Cape Town to Langa via Mutual services are currently operational, while Cape Town to Langa via Pinelands is 90% ready for recovery.
Work is underway to recover the services between Langa and Nyanga as well as Cape Town to Bellville via Sarepta, as part of the phase 1 of the recovery programme.
“We have put in place an integrated security plan to safeguard and protect our infrastructure.
“Plans have also been put in place to prevent further encroachment on our rail reserve.
“Prasa is rebuilding the damaged rail network corridor by corridor, track by track,” the agency said.
We will run limited services using diesel locomotives