Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has decided to overhaul its railway signalling system.
According to the company the current system consists of a mixture of technologies from the 1930s to 1980s. “Upgrading the system will replace the practice of mechanical interlocking or the manual changing of signals by pulling a leaver,” it says.
The agency chose Siemens SA to install the technologically advanced railway signalling system in January 2011.
Through Prasa's planned railway signalling replacement initiative, train signal changes will be automated through the pressing of a few buttons.
“The new Railway Signalling System and the construction of the Train Control Nerve Centre will enhance operational capacity and allow higher flexibility, improved safety, reduce train delays and reduce human factors in the operation of trains,” the agency says.
According to Prasa Group CEO, Lucky Montana, running the old railway signalling system was quite costly. "The current signalling system is no longer suitable for a safe movement and monitoring of traffic. It is unreliable and has contributed to accidents in the recent past.
"Approximately 80% of the signalling installations have become obsolete, and the remainder not able to fully support modern and safe railway operations," he says.
The first phase is expected to commence in January next year along with the construction of a new Centralised Train Control (CTC) for Gauteng, otherwise known as the Gauteng Nerve Centre, he adds.
Montana says Prasa had initially set aside R1.9 billion for the introduction of new, modern signalling and telecommunications system on its commuter rail network. “Siemens had presented an attractive solution at a cost of R961 million, which was accepted by Prasa.”
"This massive investment is in line with Prasa's critical priorities over the next three to five years of upgrading the existing passenger railway system and championing the adoption of new railway technology best practices.
"Following the successful implementation of the first phase of our strategy over the past three years, we are now striving to make Prasa the number one public transport operator in South Africa's high-volume corridors by 2015," he states.
According to Prasa, its primary focus in this phase is on capacity expansion to meet current and future demands, as well as driving the modernisation of its signalling and telecommunications. It is also focusing on rolling stock and train operating systems, to name a few.
Montana says the modern Signalling Upgrade Programme will also lay the foundation for the introduction of new, modern rolling stock in Prasa's environment. “However, Prasa is still negotiating with Siemens SA on the finer details of the tender, with the view to finalise the negotiations by late December this year.”
Prasa says it will priorities the introduction of the new signalling system in its high-volume priority corridors which are Naledi in Soweto; Pretoria to Johannesburg; Mabopane to Pretoria; Mamelodi to Pretoria and KwaMashu to Durban to Umlazi.
Other corridors are from Khayelitsha to Mitchells'Plain to Phillipi to Cape Town; Kraaifontein to Bellville to Cape Town and Simonstown to Cape Town.
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