The ANC has long been in love with the idea of high-speed trains (HSTs). The latest evidence came in Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi’s state of the province address last week.
Lesufi has floated the idea before of what he calls “the Gauteng-Limpopo speed train”, involving the governments of the two provinces. Now, he says, without going into detail, the project “has taken an impressive turn. Over 30 investors have raised their hands, willing to bankroll this project. With the undivided support of our president and the minister of transport, this dream is about to be realised in our lifetime. This intervention will ease the traffic backlog on the N1 to Limpopo on weekends. It will further assist in reducing accidents on this route.”
It is not clear what the claimed “undivided support” from the national government means in theory or practice. There is already a 420km rail line linking Pretoria, Polokwane and Musina. For many years it carried between 15 and 20 goods trains a day, with at least one daily and one overnight passenger service, supplemented by several more passenger trains at weekends.
Transnet is responsible for freight rail traffic, and we must assume that the Pretoria-Musina-Zimbabwe line is among those due to be restored to full operation, given its strategic economic importance and the need to reclaim the rail-friendly heavy traffic that is now going by road.
The point about HSTs, wherever they are operated globally, is that they do not carry freight, except for very light stuff such as parcels. A Gauteng-Limpopo HST would not carry goods, which means the Transnet freight operation focusing on reliability, frequency and capacity, not speed, would still be needed.
It is not clear what the claimed ‘undivided support’ from the national government means in theory or practice
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), while it has made progress in restoring its metropolitan commuter services, has not managed to restore any long-distance intercity services since their total national collapse five years ago.
However, Prasa could use the line that it once shared with Transnet — and a high-speed passenger operation could use the existing track, which has a gauge of 1,067mm as opposed to the 1,435mm gauge used by the Gautrain and many other HSTs.
In the 1980s, successful experiments were performed on 1,067mm track by railway engineers at South African Transport Services (Transnet’s predecessor), leading to a passenger train capable of 160km/h. The Metroblitz, as it was nicknamed, ran for a year between Joburg and Pretoria. With some imagination and adaptation, the same technology could be used to create an HST from Gauteng to Limpopo, using existing infrastructure.
The line would need to be doubled or tripled to ensure that goods trains do not block the passage of the much faster passenger trains (which was what put paid to the Metroblitz operation in the congested Gauteng rail network). But the cost of a 1,067mm track extension on the line would be a tiny fraction of the tens of billions of rand that would be needed for a new 1,435mm HST.
Lesufi’s grand ideas are reminiscent of the infrastructure drive for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, when several new stadiums were built next to perfectly serviceable existing ones. As for Lesufi’s clamouring 30-plus investors, they would be unlikely to see any returns in their children’s lifetimes, if ever.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.