No reversing Gautrain - Part 2

the 104 carriages will be manufactured in england and assembled at a depot in midrand. bouygues will be doing the drilling with massive tunnel-boring machines, used in the channel tunnel. other construction and civil engineering work will be done by leading south african company murray & roberts, with a high content of local labour and material part of the deal.
operation and maintenance of the 20-year concession — including 300 buses that form part of a feeder system — will be carried by ratp développement through a local company. the french transport company runs paris’s frenetic and complicated bus, rapid rail and metro services.
the bee component is made up of the strategic partners group (spg), consisting of 20 empowerment companies and headed by chamber of mines ceo mzolisi diliza.
loliwe rail contractors and loliwe rail express — which was named in much of the publicity at the time of the preferred bidder announcement — unsuccessfully challenged spg in court for a 25% share in the project.
the deadline for financial closure of the deal is expected in december, with a sod-turning ceremony planned for january. and upping the ante is the expectation that the train will be operational in time for the 2010 soccer world cup. with the international involvement, damaging infighting and pressing deadlines, it’s not surprising the project has been flung into the headlines.
but the wheels haven’t come off, yet.
the project falls under the province’s high-profile blue iq venture, regarded by the government as a model for increasing development and attracting investment.
gautrain is being run by jack van der merwe, an experienced transport engineer and enthusiastic civil servant. once trusted with the government investigation into the sarafina scandal, he seems to have the backing of politicians.
but the announcement last month by finance minister trevor manual that the cost of the train would not be the previously touted r7-billion but r20-billion triggered a public outcry and complicated financial explanations.
van der merwe was called to account to the parliamentary transport portfolio committee, amid concerns that the government was being “rushed” into a decision.
adding fuel to the gautrain-sceptic fire, chairman of the committee jeremy cronin called for cabinet to scrap the project.
trade union federation cosatu added its voice this week, calling for a moratorium on the gautrain.
the gauteng government has stood its ground, with shilowa on wednesday saying he was not worried about cabinet pulling the plug on the project. “i don’t think national government would, on the basis of people who have not been involved, who have only read snippets and had one presentation, arrive at this elaborate decision,” he said.
he reiterated that the project had met the detailed demands of the national treasury.
however, what is becoming clear is that the government stepped up its involvement amid concerns about the escalating cost of the train project and how the province would fund its share. now, the r20-billion will be split between the province and government infrastructure funds through the department of transport.
key to clarifying the complex financial structure of the project is the closing of the deal where final private and public sector costs should be revealed, including any subsidies to be paid by the government.
there are concerns about how many people are going to use the train but project leaders are sticking to their targeted 135000 passenger trips a day by 2010, and pointing to accepted models used in feasibility studies. they speak about the cost-effectiveness of building the train in the way proposed and of the outdated south african railway network with its narrow gauge.
and they repeat that although they are deeply worried about growing commuter dissatisfaction with the existing metrorail train service, there is little they can do as responsibility lies with transnet and the department of transport.
but the concern that money is being spent on the rich at the expense of the poor is at the heart of the gautrain debate. the train was never meant to be an alternative to mass public transport. it was aimed at those who drove to work on car-free day.
without doubt something needs to be done about congestion on highways, and increasing the number of roads is not an answer. nor is the necessity of an integrated transport system in dispute. city bus services will have to be integrated with the gautrain’s feeder system and the stations may change the shape of johannesburg and pretoria.
officials speak about smart-card ticketing and synergies with the taxi recapitalisation programme. for them, the gautrain is envisaged as one aspect of a future fully modern transport system.
it’s been called a pipe dream and a white elephant in the making. even shilowa joked this week about remarks he made five years ago that he would be taking the first ride in 2005. now he is talking about completion in 54 months.
cronin is correct to call for greater scrutiny of the project. there is no doubt that as the public comes to terms with the reality we will hear more outcry.
by the time they start drilling those tunnels, the noise will be deafening.