Durban's Umlazi line gets R2bn as PRASA promises a train every three minutes
EThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba rode the Durban Station to Umlazi corridor on Friday to inspect signalling work that PRASA says will lift annual passenger numbers from 1.8 million to a projected 10 million.
EThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba has commended the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa for accelerating projects aimed at improving passenger rail services in Durban, after inspecting the Umlazi corridor by train on Friday.
Xaba travelled from Durban Station to Umlazi with Members of the Executive Committee and PRASA’s top management to assess the condition of the corridor and progress on modernising its signalling and telecommunications systems.
PRASA is running an R11 billion signalling and telecommunications programme across various corridors. It is also investing approximately R2 billion in the rehabilitation of the Umlazi Corridor, which the agency says carries the largest number of train passengers in the province. Both projects are at various stages of implementation.
According to the government’s account of the visit, Xaba said the signalling and telecommunications programme is expected to significantly improve the safety, reliability and scheduling of train services. On completion, the project will allow trains to run at intervals of between three and five minutes. That is intended to support growth in annual passenger numbers from the current 1.8 million to a projected 10 million.
PRASA has already procured 101 new trains in anticipation of the higher demand.
Next month the agency will officially unveil the first of seven sections where signalling has been completed. The first section covers the corridor between Crossmoor and Havenside. The second covers the Rossburgh to Pinetown corridor.
Xaba thanked Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and PRASA management for the investment in Durban’s rail operations.
“This investment is crucial because trains are the most preferred mode of transport for poor and working-class communities,” he said.
He said revitalising the rail network is crucial to building an integrated, safe and reliable public transport system for the city.
This report is based on the South African Government News Agency’s summary of the visit rather than the full project record. The summary does not set out a completion date for the signalling and telecommunications programme, the cost of the 101 new trains, or a timetable for the remaining six signalling sections beyond the first.
Source: SAnews (South African Government News Agency), PRASA commended for revitalising Durban’s passenger rail service
