PASSENGER RAIL AGENCY OF SOUTH AFRICA
The essence of PRASA is to integrate inter-modal facilities and services into public transport solutions that optimise the performance of the whole transport system. The funding for PRASA comes mainly (70%) from the government. The rest of the funding comes from internally generated cash flow and this is something which PRASA will be looking to grow over the coming years. Increasing fares, exploiting its assets and increasing passenger numbers are all methods that the organisation views as possibilities to help boost internal cash flow. PRASA’s primary target over the coming years is to upgrade the existing passenger railway system in order to meet the challenges of an increasingly modern and developing society. This will include implementing plans for the modernisation of the signalling, telecommunications systems, rolling stock and train operating systems.
ROLLING STOCK UPGRADES Upgrades to the country’s rail infrastructure have been on-going for some time now with great progress being made. The upgrade of rolling stock is a major investment for PRASA. Rolling stock refers to all vehicles that move on a railway track and PRASA made the decision in December
that the Gibela Rail Transportation consortium, led by French company Alstom and SA engineering company Actom, would receive a multi-billion rand contract to design, manufacture and supply new trains and wagons as part of the on-going upgrades. “The ageing fleet combined with rapidly growing passenger need has led PRASA to focus on scaling the rolling stock investment as part of a broader strategy to acquire modern technology to meet changing demands,” says Lucky Montana, PRASA Group CEO. “The Prasa rolling stock fleet renewal programme is the catalyst for the transformation of Metrorail services and public transport as a whole. “The average age of the current coaches is 39 years, while the lifespan of railway rolling stock is of the order of an average 46 years,” says Mr Montana. “Prasa has in the past two years intensified its efforts to invest significantly in new rolling stock over the next 20 years, with the first trains expected to be delivered in 2015.” Metrorail passengers in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Durban and Gauteng are serviced by some 4700 coaches, 90% of which are from the late 1950s. In the 20 years between 2015 and 2035, PRASA’s investment in rolling stock will look to add over 7000 electrical carriages to its portfolio.
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