SA RAIL NEWS eThekwini municipality, followed by a full-scale public participation process. Transport authority head Thami Manyathi says the plan is “90% complete” and is to be tabled by May. A rapid rail network, “much like the Gautrain” is envisaged to link Umhlanga and King Shaka International Airport.
MIDDLETON ON GAUTRAIN Dr John Middleton of the World Bank, writing in his personal capacity, observes: “Quite a lot of comment on Gautrain recently which I cannot resist adding to: ‘Gautrain is built and operated by a commercial company.’ “Yes it is and as a commercial company it’s far from a ‘financial disaster’, in fact its doing very well. Why - because its all underwritten by the government. The deal that the operating consortium got was so sweet they will never be out of pocket. However, whether the government will ever get a return on its investment is highly debatable. “Having said that I rode it from the airport for the first time in January and very nice it is too, clean and all works very well (you also get an unusual view into Kelvin Power Station where their two Hunslet diesels are visible from the train; these were never visible from outside the fence before). “You do feel as if may be got off in the wrong city as the ambiance is more 09.30 London to Brighton....(the same type of train for those who haven’t a clue what I am on about)”
MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: NO PRIVATISING Newly appointed South African minister of public enterprises Malusi Gigaba, 39, told Sunday Times writer Brendan Boyle he does not expect any change in the corporatisation of the big enterprises like Transnet and Eskom, and he rules out privatisation, which, he says, “wasn’t in the mind of the government at present or in future.” Gigaba said he believed the boards and management of the corporations all accepted “they must amend the Trevor Manueltaught discipline of the bottom line and tweak their corporate strategies to support the government’s interventionist policy of using the share of the economy it owns to boost growth and employment.”
NO SPENDING ON SA HS RAIL - YET Bantu Holomisa from the United Democratic Movement (UDM) was reported recently saying: “Recent statements by the Minister of Transport, Mr Sbu Ndebele, about his department’s plan to spend billions of Rand on luxurious speed trains and related projects for rail routes linking Johannesburg to Cape Town, Johannesburg to Durban and Johannesburg to Messina, leaves the UDM perturbed by the government’s lack of prioritisation. We are particularly troubled by the reports that, as usual, there are certain politically connected companies and individuals who stand to benefit from these projects....” The minister responded: “We wish to categorically state that, except for the Gautrain, to date not a cent has been spent on the
Rail Welding
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Railways Africa March 2011
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