Johannesburg - Siemens South Africa has been named as the preferred bidder to install the technologically advanced, state-of-the-art railway signaling system in January 2011.
Making the announcement on Thursday, Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa
(PRASA) boss Lucky Montana said running the old railway signaling system was quite costly.
"The current signaling 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 percent of the signaling installations have become obsolete, and the remainder not able to fully support modern and safe railway operations," he said.
Montana said 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 Center (GNC).
He said PRASA had initially set aside R1.9 billion for the introduction of new, modern signaling and telecommunications system on its commuter rail network.
According to Montana, 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," said Montana.
PRASA's primary focus in this phase is on capacity expansion to meet current and future demands, as well as driving the modernisation of its Signaling and Telecommunications and Rolling Stock and Train Operating Systems, to name a few.
The current railway signaling system consists of a mixture of technologies from the 1930s - 1980s.
Upgrading the system will replace the practice of mechanical interlocking or the manual changing of signals by pulling a leaver.
Through PRASA's planned railway signaling replacement initiative, train signal changes will be automated through the pressing of a few buttons.
The new Railway Signaling System and the construction of the Train Control Nerve Center will enhance operational capacity and allow higher flexibility, improved safety, reduce train delays and reduce human factors in the operation of trains.
PRASA will priorities the introduction of the new signaling system in its high-volume priority corridors which are Naledi in Soweto; Pretoria to Johannesburg; Mabopane to Pretoria; Mamelodi to Pretoria; KwaMashu to Durban to Umlazi; Khayelitsha to Mitchells'Plain to Phillipi to Cape Town; Kraaifontein to Bellville to Cape Town and Simonstown to Cape Town.
Montana said the modern Signaling 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 South Africa on the finer details of the tender, with the view to finalise the negotiations by late December this year.
Once an agreement is reached, a formal contract will be signed. If the two parties fail to reach an agreement, PRASA will commence negotiations with the reserve bidder, ACTOM.
