Railways Africa Issue 3 2011

RAILWAYS AFRICA / FOREWORD

Foreword

The copyright on all material in this magazine is expressly reserved and vested in Rail Link Communications cc, unless otherwise stated. No material may be reproduced in any form, in part or in whole, without the permission of the publishers. Please note that the opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers of Rail Link Communications cc unless otherwise stated. While precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, neither the Editor, Publisher or Contributor can be held liable for any inaccuracies or damages that may arise.

3May 2011 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com

PUBLISHERBarbara Sheat

EDITOR Rollo Dickson

DESIGN & LAYOUTGrazia Muto

ADVERTISINGKim Bevan

SUBSCRIPTIONS Kim Bevan

CONTRIBUTORSAndre Kritzinger

Anton van Schalkwyk

Boon Boonzaaier

Jacque Wepener

John Batwell

Leon Zaayman

Richard Grönstedt

Peter Rogers

ISSN 1029 - 2756

Rail Link Communications ccPO Box 4794 Randburg 2125

Tel: +27 87 940 9278

E-mail: [email protected]

Twitter: railwaysafrica

Website: www.railwaysafrica.com

ROLLING STOCK | PERWAY | INFRASTRUCTURE | SIGNALLING | OPERATORS | COMMENT

MA

Y 2

01

1

WWW.RAILWAYSAFRICA.COM

BARBARA SHEATPublisher / Railways Africa

An era - a railway era - has ended in South Africa with the passing of Boon Boonzaaier.

During a very long illness and continual discomfort, he accomplished more than most

people manage in a lifetime. After early retirement from teaching due to poor health, the

rail tour organisation he created in Southern Africa was renowned world-wide: it earned

the country thousands of well-spent Dollars, Pounds, Deutschmarks and Yen, brought

by enthusiastic overseas travellers who invariably returned to spend more.

Boon accompanied every excursion himself, personally ensuring that everything fl owed

smoothly, even if (for example) a broken leg that refused to mend for two years confi ned

him to a chair in the lounge car. From there, with great humour, he would provide an

inimitable and highly knowledgeable commentary. Despite generating steady money to

pour into Spoornet coffers, the parastatal’s deteriorating locomotive and rolling stock

situation brought the tours to an end in 2007, to everybody’s dismay.

Indefatigable, Boon went home and wrote a book. Characteristically, it was no ordinary

book. In A4 format, the 750,000-word Tracks Across The Veld runs to 349 pages, crammed

with information, historical data, 80 detailed maps, every conceivable statistic and

600 incomparable colour photos; even special, rail-related stamps.

Tracks Across The Veld was veritably Boon’s magnum opus, a fi tting memorial to a truly

remarkable man.

Only a matter of days before he died, Boon - listed regularly as a contributor in Railways

Africa - was still sending us amazing photos and other material.

FEATURE TITLE

4 Railways Africa May 2011 www.railwaysafrica.com

ContentsContents

RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR Safe and Healthy Workers are Vital for Safer Railways 6

PLASSERAIL The Ins and Outs of Mechanised Railway Track Tamping 10

Features

Contactless Tickets for Cairo 26

RVR Timetable Changes 27

Chinese $4.6Bn Deal with Kenya Railways 28

Zambian North-west Railway 32

Steam Activity at NRZ 34

Africa Update

21

10

26

And Now for Something Completely Different 20

Pete the Pundit

5Railways Africa May 2011 www.railwaysafrica.com

RAILWAYS AFRICA / CONTENTS

End of the LineThree Countries – Three Gauges 54

Gautrain Extensions East & West 54

Profound Texan Name Change 56

37

42

36

56

Permanent Way Fault Detection 36

Out & About In The Western Cape 37

Transnet Fleet Renewal 38

Coal Line Shutdown 40

SA Rail News

Soweto Crash Hurts 250, 644, 857… 42

Chaos In UK Tunnel 44

Derailment Near Klapmuts 46

Israeli Crash Injures 60 49

Don’t Sleep On The Subway, Darling 50

Mishaps & Blunders

occupational health and safety. Therefore the standard makes the

necessary normative reference to the relevant national legislation

and standards. These include among others the Basic Conditions

of Employment Act, the Employment Equity Act, Labour Relations

Act, Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act,

National Road Traffi c Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The standard is divided into three broad categories which cover the

human-system interface (design issues), physical environmental

factors, and organisational and psychological factors.

The human-system interface refers to the application of human

factors information to match tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs,

and environments to the physical and psychological capabilities

and limitations of people and seeks to safeguard safety, health,

and well-being whilst optimising effi ciency and performance.

The potential effects of poor design include impaired cognitive

functioning, impaired vision, changes in reaction time, burnout,

stress, fatigue, drowsiness, bone, joint, muscular, vascular,

neurological disorders, all of which could lead ultimately to unsafe

work practices.

It is recommended that operators use design specialists where

necessary to ensure the adequate and effi cient design of tools,

equipment, workstations and machinery.

Physical environmental factors include noise, vibration, lighting,

thermal environment and hazardous substances. Excessive or

inadequate exposure to these could result in immediate or delayed

health effects, fatigue, impaired vision and cognitive functioning

which could eventually result in unsafe work practices.

Operators are required to conduct surveys to determine the

impact of these physical environmental factors on safe railway

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), on behalf of the

Railway Safety Regulator (RSR), has just published a national

standard on human factors management.

The standard was developed primarily to provide railway operators

with the minimum requirements to manage human factors and

has been adopted by the RSR Board, making compliance to the

standard mandatory to all railway operators in South Africa.

As defi ned in the National Railway Safety Regulator Act, “human

factors” mean factors which include the perceptual, physical and

mental capabilities of people and the interaction of individuals

with their job and working environments, the infl uence of

equipment and system design on human performance, and

the organisational characteristics that infl uence safety-related

behaviour at work.

The purpose of human factors management is to reduce

occurrences attributable to human error by optimising human

capital and by mitigating the risks associated with human factors

in the workplace to acceptable levels. The management of human

factors is a dynamic, risk-driven process and must form an integral

part of each operator’s safety management system.

The standard is applicable to all employees undertaking safety-

related work in the railway environment. This includes all functions

and activities that have an impact on safe railway operations and

includes safety-critical work which refers to all functions and

activities related to the authorisation and control of the movement

of rolling stock.

The requirements covered in this standard have an overlap with

other components such as recruitment, training, human resource

issues, health and medical issues as well as an overlap with


RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR

By Jacintha Naidoo, Senior Manager of Safety Standards at South Africa’s Railway Safety Regulator.

Safe and Healthy Workers are Vital for Safer Railways

Gautrain Turnout Assembly

GM

620_

VAE_

Pres

slin

k

www.voestalpine.com/vaesa

Railway operators are urged to conduct education and awareness

of each requirement in this standard as well as relevant legislation,

policies and procedures in respect of their employees undertaking

safety-related work.

The concept of dual responsibility is also emphasised throughout

the standard and is in line with the “duty of care” principle. The

latter requires employers to take reasonable steps to ensure their

employees’ health and safety are not impaired due to the work

undertaken. The employees also have a responsibility to exercise

reasonable care in the execution of their work. This mutual

responsibility is crucial in ensuring safe railway operations.

The RSR is recognised by the SABS as a standards development

organisation and the relationship is managed via a memorandum

of understanding (MoU). The standard was developed consistent

with national legislation for standards development and was

facilitated by the RSR. The working group and technical committee

was represented by the RSR, SABS, employee representative

organisations, industry experts on operational issues and subject

matter experts.

SANS 3000-4 forms part of a suite of standards developed for

the RSR. Other standards developed include those prescribing

the minimum requirements for safety management systems,

technical standards on rolling stock, track, civil and electrical

infrastructure.

The published standards are on sale from the SABS on

www.sabs.co.za and can also be viewed on the RSR’s website on

www.rsr.org.za

operations. These include noise surveys to ensure that safety-

critical communication is not compromised and that the hearing

of the employees is not impaired. Lighting surveys are required

to determine the level of lighting required to perform the required

safety-related tasks safely. Good lighting whether natural or

artifi cial has an important role to play in promoting health and

safety at work as good lighting assists both in the identifi cation of

hazards and reduces the likelihood of visual fatigue and discomfort.

The last category comprises “organisational and psychological”

factors which include: recruitment and selection, training,

medical surveillance, fi tness for duty, chronic medical conditions,

medication, pregnancy, employee wellness, substance abuse,

fatigue management and stress management.

Multi-faceted burdens could result from chronic and acute

medical conditions, substance abuse, fatigue caused by insuffi cient

rest periods, and excessive work and personal stress that could

lead to temporary or permanent inability to work, thus impacting

safe railway operations. Thus railway operators need to develop

adequate policies and procedures to address each requirement in

this standard, to ensure safe railway operations.

The fi tness-for-duty requirement is all-inclusive in that it touches

every other requirement in the standard. Employees undertaking

safety-related work need to be fi t for duty. This means: physically

and mentally healthy, well rested, alert, managed stress levels,

free from substances that could impair faculties, free from any

disabling medical conditions and adequately trained and

competent. From a health perspective, the fi tness-for-duty concept

relates to the continuity of performing safety-related work as well

as from a managerial aspect on the individual’s fi tness while on

duty and the prevention of unsafe railway occurrences.


RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR

2. Lifting And Aligning UnitPlasserail tamping machines are equipped with a combined lifting

and aligning unit (i) mounted in front of the tamping units (ii)

between the bogies (see Figure 3).

Universal tamping machines such as the Unimat (illustrated in

Figure 3) are equipped with a specialised lifting and aligning unit

with lifting hooks (iii) which grips the rail under the crown or base

for lifting in restricted track such as turnouts, roller clamps (iv) for

high-speed lifting on the main-line and either one or two fl anged

rollers (v) which run on the rail crown to transfer the lateral force

to the track for alignment. See also Figure 4.

Main-line tamping machines are equipped with a lifting and

aligning unit with double roller clamps to grip the rail under the

crown for high-speed lifting on the open line and two fl anged

rollers which run on the rail crown to transfer the lateral force to

the track for alignment. See Figure 5.

The track and rail condition monitoring and analysis discussed in

the previous article will identify the corrective maintenance

required as well as the condition of the track for the preventative

maintenance programme. This is the catalyst for all maintenance

to follow.

1. IntroductionUnder repeated loading from traffi c, the track moves

progressively, causing deviations from the desired vertical and

horizontal alignment (geometry). Ballast tamping is the process

used to rearrange the ballast under the sleeper to restore the

geometry and elasticity of the track structure. This is done by

uniformly lifting the track, squeezing ballast in underneath the

sleeper where a void was created by the lifting process and

correcting the horizontal alignment of the track at the same time.

This result of this process is clearly illustrated in Figure 1 and

Figure 2.

Tamping is carried out using mechanised ballast tamping

machines. Many different tamping machine designs are available,

to satisfy every possible tamping requirement, from low-cost,

low-production machines tamping one sleeper at a time to high

production main-line tamping machines using the continuous

action tamping principle and tamping up to four sleepers per

cycle. Other machines are universal and capable of tamping

turnouts and the main-line without having to make any changes

to the machine such as removing tines. This article will explain

the design, use and function of the different main components of

mechanised tamping machines.

Figure 1: Top defect (slack) clearly

visible before tamping.

Figure 2: Tamping removed the

slack to restore the top.

Figure 3: Location of lifting unit components (Unimat universal tamping

machine illustrated).

Figure 4: Specialised lifting and aligning unit found on universal

tamping machines.

Figure 5: A typical lifting and aligning unit found on main-line

tamping machines.


PLASSERAIL

THE INS AND OUTS OF MECHANISED RAILWAY TRACK TAMPINGThis is the third in a series on mechanised track maintenance. In our March issue, the reader was introduced to the multiple aspects of the subject, an activity without which there would be no rail traffi c at all. The April instalment dealt with the topic where all maintenance starts - track condition monitoring and analysis. This month’s and subsequent articles describe the role of each of the mechanised track maintenance machines used on the South African rail network, to ensure that the track is reliable, available, affordable and safe.

by Leon Zaayman

3. Measuring SystemA fully automatic measuring system determines the relative

difference in the vertical and horizontal positions of the track at

a centre measuring trolley (vii) between two reference points, the

front (viii) and rear (ix) measuring trolleys. See Figure 6.

The relative vertical difference is established with the use of a

steel cord above each rail (x in Figure 6), extended from the rear

to the front measuring trolleys (see also Figure 7). The reference

line for horizontal alignment is a steel cord (xi in Figure 6),

extended along the centre of the track (see also Figure 8).

The lifting and aligning unit works together with the measuring

system to lift the track to a uniform height removing any vertical

defects in the process and to simultaneously slew the track to

correct any horizontal defects in the track.

To ensure a residual lift after tamping, research has shown that

the minimum lift should be around 20mm to provide enough

space under the sleepers to rearrange the ballast stones. The

machine will therefore lift the track uniformly by a pre-set lift

of approximately 20mm. Where a vertical defect (slack) is

encountered, the measuring system will detect the relative

vertical difference in height and lift the track by the pre-set

height as well as the depth of the slack. Refer to Figure 9.

The single use crucibleRail Welding

Thermitrex (Pty) Ltd

Tel: +27 (0)11 914 2540

Fax: +27 (0)11 914 2547

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.thermitrex.co.za

PO Box 6070,

Dunswart,

Johannesburg,

Gauteng

South Africa

1508

The single-use crucible reduces the risk of human error. It is made from a bonded refractory material inserted in an easy-to-handle five-litre container. Welds are more consistent. As there is no drying or pre-heating, weld times are much shorter. And the single use crucible is safer and minimises environmental impacts.

Figure 6: Location of measuring system components (TOS universal

tamping machine illustrated).

Figure 7: Illustration of a vertical level (top) defect.

Figure 8: Illustration of a horizontal alignment defect.

Figure 9: The lifting principle.

PLASSERAIL

closure rail) during turnout tamping operations and eliminates

the need for cumbersome, manually placed track jacks, hydraulic

hose reels and the related labour and maintenance costs.

The standard two-point lift on the long sleepers on concrete

turnouts leads to overstressing and damage to the rail fastenings,

due to the weight of the long sleeper, the added weight of the

turnout rails as well as the turning moment caused by the long

sleeper being lifted at one end. The entire load is carried by the

fastenings of the two rails (see Figure 12).

An additional synchronised lift at the curved closure rail

distributes the weight of the sleeper and rails across three lifting

points and eliminates the turning moment which reduces the

lifting force at the middle rail by almost half (see Figure 13). Third-

rail lifting devices are therefore essential in tamping turnouts on

concrete sleepers.

5. Tamping UnitsIt is the tamping units [Figure 3 (ii)] that carry out the main

function of the tamping machine. Figure 14 provides a schematic

illustration of the tamping process in four simplifi ed steps.

Step 1 – A basic tamping machine indexes forward and comes to

a standstill with the tamping tines of the tamping unit straddling

the sleeper on both sides.

Step 2 – The lifting and aligning unit lifts the track to a pre-

set minimum height while correcting any possible vertical and

horizontal defects in the track.

Step 3 – The tamping units are lowered. The vibrating tines enter

the ballast and stop at a predetermined depth. The tines are

vibrating in order to fl uidise the ballast stone, to permit it to

rearrange and settle in a dense matrix. Vibration also greatly

reduces the force required to penetrate the tamping tines into

the ballast.

Defects which are shorter than the cord length between the

front and rear measuring trolleys of the tamping machine can

be corrected successfully but if the defects are longer than the

cord length, the machine will follow these defects without

removing it.

Plasserail tamping machines therefore use laser or optical

equipment mounted on a mobile trolley (also called the ‘tachy’)

which is moved 100 to 150 metres ahead of the tamping machine

(see Figure 10), depending on geography and other conditions.

The tamping machine is then guided by a straight line which is

aimed at a target board on the front measuring trolley [also called

the ‘voorwagen’, see Figure 6 (xii)]. When the machine moves

forward, the lifting and aligning wires are adjusted via remote

control so that the reticule of the viewfi nder is lined up with the

marks on the target board. This effectively lengthens the cord

length to the distance between the rear measuring trolley of the

machine and the position of the ‘tachy’. This provides utmost

accuracy in the vertical and horizontal alignment of the track and

is generally referred to as design lifting and aligning.

The measuring system can be supplemented with a computer-

based system (the WIN-ALC) which can be used to measure the

track and for automatic calculations and setting of the offsets

in curves.

4. Third-Rail Lifting DeviceModern universal tamping machines are fi tted with a hydraulically

operated, telescopic third-rail lifting system on either side of the

machine [see Figure 3 (vi) and Figure 11] which is synchronised

with the combined lifting and aligning unit. This clamp assembly

provides controlled lift of the outside turnout rail (the curved

Figure 10 : The use of optical or laser equipment to permit removal of long

wave defects.

Figure 11 : Third-rail lifting device.

Figure 13: With three-rail lifting.

Figure 12: Without three-rail lifting.


PLASSERAIL

Step 4 – The cylinder assembly exerts a force on the tine arms

which perform a squeezing motion of the tines. The tines compact

ballast underneath the sleeper in the void created by the lifting

process. The tamping machine indexes forward to the next sleeper

and the process repeats itself.

Due to the variety of requirements for tamping such as production

capabilities, specialised units for tamping turnouts etc, a large

variety of tamping unit designs are available. The following are

features that set the different tamping units apart:

(i) Number of sleepers tamped per cycleThe number of sleepers that are tamped per cycle (insertion)

determines the production capability of the machine. Single

sleeper tamping machines are still very common since high

production is not always required and a lower production at a

lower machine price can be preferred for some applications. Such

as spot maintenance.

The machine price must however not be confused with unit price

of production since higher production machines may be more

expensive than lower production machines, though their unit cost

of production is actually lower.

The latest tamping machines by Plasser & Theurer can tamp up to

four sleepers per cycle and are the fastest machines available in

the world. The 09-3X which tamps three sleepers per cycle is the

fastest machine in South Africa.

(ii) Tine confi gurationThe tamping tine is the wear component of a tamping unit which

enters the ballast and packs it underneath the sleeper. Most of

the tines currently in use are made of drop-forged special steel

with carbide plates at their exposed surfaces. The tine plate at the

bottom end of the tine is the wear component. Once the plate has

worn past a specifi ed percentage of area, the tine is replaced.

Tamping units are either equipped with 4 or 8 tines per rail as can

be seen in Figure 16 and Figure 17. The tine plates (tips) on 4-tine

Step 1

The tamping machine stops over

the sleeper to be tamped.

Step 2

Lifting units lift the rail and sleeper

to pre-determined height.

Step 3

Tines enters ballast and stops at

pre-determined depth.

Step 4

Cylinder assembly performs squeezing

action and compacts ballast in the void.

Figure 14: Tamping process description.

Figure 15: Examples of tamping unit layouts.

Single sleeper Two sleeper Three sleeper Four sleeper

Figure 16: 4-tine units. Figure 17: 8-tine units.


PLASSERAIL

This type of unit is only available in four tines (per rail) confi guration

in South Africa due to our limited gauge and the size of these units.

See also Figure 16.

Split Units: Split tamping units are in principle longitudinally

divided in two (fi eld side and gauge side), and can be raised and

lowered individually for unparalleled versatility (vertical split). See

Figure 19. Each one of the total of four units can be lowered and

put into action separately from the other. Furthermore, some split

units can individually be displaced laterally as well (horizon split) to

fi nd the best area in the restricted track to enter the ballast. The

split units can be locked together in which case they will act like

conventional main line tamping units. See also Figure 17.

units are however larger to make up for the fewer tines and provide

similar compaction characteristics as 8-tine units.

(iv) Specialised turnout tamping unitsIn turnouts where track is restricted, some of the tines may hit

an obstruction such as the switch blade or curved closure rail

of the turnout portion. Plasserail universal tamping machines

therefore have specialised tamping units to reach in between

restricted spaces. Two basic designs are used, either tilting tines

or split units.

Tilting tines: Tamping units equipped with tilting tines avoid

hitting rails that may obstruct one set of tines by tilting those tines

out of the way. See Figure 18.

International Railway

Industry Standard

R A I L V E H I C L E S Y S T E M S

Knorr-Bremse S.A. Pty. Ltd.

3 Derrick Road (Corner Green Road)

1610 Spartan

Phone: +27 11 961 7800 Fax: +27 11 975 8249

Knorr-Bremse South Africa (Pty) Ltd (KBSA) has had IRIS certification since January 2009 and has just successfully passed not

only a re-certification but also an upgrade audit against revision 2 valid from 5 January 2011. KBSA is the first and only company

in Africa to have obtained IRIS certification and has experienced the benefits of this certification by reduced non-conformities,

improved customer support, improved product quality from suppliers – simply, improved business management across the

entire supply chain. | www.knorr-bremse.com |

GM

571_PRESSLINK

Figure 18 : The use of tilting tines to avoid tines hitting turnout rails. Figure 19: The use of split units to avoid tines hitting turnout rails.

PLASSERAIL

working on the South African rail network, tamp three sleepers

per cycle and achieve a production rate of up to 60 sleepers per

minute. This equates to 2.2 kilometres tamped per hour.

The continuous action principle was traditionally used only on

main-line tamping machines. The open line tamping speed of

universal tamping machines was therefore always limited to that

of single sleeper index tamping machines. In 2006, Plasserail

combined continuous action tamping with two sleeper split

tamping units with integrated dynamic stabilisation on the 09-24

6. Auxiliary Satellite Frame for Continuous Action Tamping

A tamping machine must be moved from sleeper to sleeper for

the tamping operation. The machine must therefore accelerate

and brake again between sleepers. This is referred to as index

tamping. Though this principle is still used on many modern

tamping machines, its production capability is limited due to the

acceleration and braking limitations of heavy on-track machines

using steel wheels on steel rail. The acceleration and braking is also

very uncomfortable for the operator of the machine and causes

fatigue to set in very quickly at higher tamping rates. The limit for

index tamping is around 33 sleepers per minute. Therefore, only

lower production, lower cost and specialised tamping machines use

index tamping.

In 1983, Plasser & Theurer introduced the fi rst continuous

action tamping machine which produced 30% more than the

fastest machine available at the time. This was achieved by the

separation of the main frame and an auxiliary satellite frame

on which the tamping units were mounted (see Figure 20). This

allows continuous motion of the main frame while the cyclic

braking and acceleration for the tamping action is performed by

the auxiliary frame. Only around 20% of the machine mass must

therefore be braked and accelerated.

When this principle is combined with multiple sleepers tamped

per insertion, very high tamping rates are possible. The 09-3X

continuous action tamping machines, of which there are two

Think Coogar®

GM532_AP Presslink

Figure 20: The 09-3X continuous action tamping machine with the tamping

units mounted to a separate auxiliary frame.


PLASSERAIL

The moment of trust. From the efficient transport of its freight to the safe arrival of their loved ones, South Africa trusts the railroads. And the railroads put trust in Timken.

Since 1932 Timken has played an integral role in the development of the

South African railroad industry, delivering more than 900,000 locally made

bearings for the most challenging environments and applications—from

locomotives to rolling stock, freight to passenger service, trams to high-speed

rail. With innovations ranging from the nation’s first Mobile Rail Service (MRS)

units to the first Black Economically Empowered (BEE) agreement in the

bearing industry, Timken is where South Africa turns for quality products,

service and business leadership—today and tomorrow. Visit Timken.com/rail

or call +27 11 741-3800 for more information.

© 2010 The Timken CompanyTimken® and Where You Turn® are registered trademarks of The Timken Company.www.timken.com

machine is standing on the straight portion of the turnout.

Machines with double slewing tamping unit frames therefore

require only one pass to tamp the turnout and also avoid an

occupation of the adjacent line.

(ii) Rotating tamping unit framesAn additional feature of modern universal tamping machines is

the rotation of the tamping units through the angle of the skew

sleepers of the turnout. These tamping units are mounted to

a turntable that ensures right angles to the sleeper when the

turnout portion is tamped. This avoids potential squaring of the

skew sleepers and improves production times.

8. WheelbaseWheelbase refers to the distance between the centre of the

bogies or two single axles of the tamping machine. During the

tamping process, the track is lifted at the lifting unit by at least

20mm to ensure a residual lift. Where a slack (vertical defect) is

encountered, the lift becomes progressively more by the depth of

the defect as illustrated in Figure 9 above.

The importance of wheelbase is illustrated in Figure 25 which

shows the maximum rail stress vs the lift applied by the machine

Dyna-CAT universal tamping machine to provide the best possible

production rates on turnouts. High production rates are achieved

on the open line as well.

7. Specialised Tamping Unit Frames for Turnout Tamping

(i) Slewing tamping unit framesThough tilting or split units prevent tines from hitting obstructions

in turnouts, the areas between the obstructions must also be

tamped for which purpose universal tamping machines need

slewing tamping unit frames. These allow the tamping units to

slide laterally across the track, to fi nd the best place for entering

the ballast.

Depending on the machine model, the tamping unit frames slide

on guide columns to allow either double slewing (Figure 21) or

single slewing (Figure 22) reach. On double slewing systems

the guide columns are mounted to an auxiliary frame which can

be slewed beyond the frame of the machine. Refer to Figure 23

for the maximum reach achieved with double (a) or single (b)

slewing tamping unit frames.

For high production in turnouts, double slewing tamping unit

frames are required to reach the turning out portion while the

Figure 21 : Double slewing tamping unit frame.

Figure 22 : Single slewing tamping unit frame.

Figure 24: Skew sleepers in the crossing section.

Figure 23: Maximum reach of universal tamping machines to the turnout

section (a) double slewing reach (Unimat) and (b) single slewing reach.

(a)

(b)


PLASSERAIL

maximum rail stress is exceeded due to the bending radius of

the rail. Considering that the minimum maintenance lift by a

tamping machine is already around 20mm, a 6 metre wheelbase

machine will not be able to even lift out a slack exceeding 20mm

in one pass. Machines with a wheelbase of at least 10 metres

would be required to ensure that deep slacks can be rectifi ed

in one pass, albeit with more than one tamp, to ensure high

production.

9. ConclusionTamping is the most frequent of mechanised maintenance

activities on the track and therefore warrants a great deal of

understanding regarding the variety of machines and features

available together with their application to ensure that the end

user gets the most cost-effective and effi cient machine for money

spent.

The article in the next issue of Railways Africa will deal with the

science behind track tamping. The tamping processes used

today have been thoroughly researched by various prominent

international academics, to ensure effi ciency and durability.

at the lifting unit and is the result of research done by Plasser &

Theurer on tangent track with UIC60 rails and concrete sleepers.

The position of the EN Standard limit (45 kN/cm2) for the

maximum rail stress in UIC60 rails is indicated on the graph. The

EN standard is used in South Africa as well. The UIC standard

limit which is much lower is also indicated.

Tamping machines with different wheelbases were then used to

lift the rail, the rail stress established and the results plotted.

The graph clearly shows that tamping machines with a 6 metre

wheelbase cannot lift more than approximately 40mm before the

Figure 25: Maximum rail stress versus lift applied by tamping machine.

PLASSERAIL

has the capacity to build the number of trains required. Instead,

fi rms from South Korea and Spain are vying for the contract.

Unfortunately, Quinn says, New Zealand doesn’t have the capacity

to build the required number of new trains quickly and cheaply

enough.

LAST SUPPER ON EAST COAST MAIN-LINEAfter 132 years of service, East Coast trains in the UK have lost

their dining cars. First-class passengers will still get a meal at

their seat as part of the ticket price but there will no longer be a

dining car on any service between London and Scotland on either

the east or west coast main-lines. Standard-class passengers,

says the BBC, will see the end of “one of the loopholes of intercity

travel because up until now they could board a train, and for the

price of a meal, go and eat in fi rst-class surroundings”. East Coast

chair Elaine Holt says the current catering operation is losing £20

million a year and as this is a railway company currently owned by

the government, it is taxpayers’ money which is being lost.

At about 17:50 on 19 May, a Metrorail commuter train from

Johannesburg ran past two red signals. It then rear-ended Soweto

Business Express #2, which had stopped at a signal between the

Mzimhlophe and Phomolong stations in Soweto. Due apparently to

the speed at which the collision took place, an incredible number

of injuries – 857 - were reported (see page 42 in this issue).

Following up the incident two weeks later, Sunday Times writer

Chris Barron concluded: “South Africa’s rail safety is a train smash.

The latest fi gures we have show that between 2008 and 2009

there were 5,307 rail accidents in which 1,932 people were

injured, and 434 people killed.

“Headlines tell us that the rail safety regulator is going to ‘crack

the whip’, but why should we take them seriously this time? I was

hoping to ask the CEO, Kethabile Moyo, this question but after

undertaking to do an interview she did a vanishing act. As only

the acting CEO, she apparently was not confi dent enough to

answer questions about rail safety.

“Instead I was directed to the Chairman, Brenda Madumise, who

does the job on a part-time basis, in gaps of her full-time job as a

consulting advocate, and therefore might seem even less qualifi ed

to explain what the rail safety regulator has been getting up to

since [it was created in] 2002.

“My fi rst question is why a body charged with such a critically

important, indeed life-or-death, role, has an acting CEO who is so

unsure of herself she cannot take questions from the media? It is

because the [former] CEO, Mosenngwa Mofi , resigned in January,

says Madumise.

“Moyo, who previously was legal advisor to the organisation,

was merely put in to plug the gap. She is ‘not yet ready to

lead an organisation of this size’, says Madumise, which is an

interesting observation coming from the chair of the board which

appointed her.

JOB CUTS FOLLOW ROLLING STOCK IMPORTSA decision to import new rolling stock has resulted in up to 70 staff

being retrenched at New Zealand’s KiwiRail. CEO Jim Quinn says

future contracts for new trains and carriages have been given to

overseas fi rms. “We have a very fi nite amount of money and we

need to make sure we buy the most we can and unfortunately

we’ve been unable to be price competitive with manufacturers

who have massive-scale plants and massive buying power,” he

told Newstalk ZB.

Opposition politician Metiria Turei blames the move on transport

minister Steven Joyce’s decision to allow a NZ$500 million

contract to build new carriages

to be tendered overseas. Alliance

Party spokesman Trevor Hanson

says local workers are suffering

from “bad free-trade policies”.

He says KiwiRail doesn’t need to

look overseas, as New Zealand

“Why was there no succession plan in place [Barron asked] to

ensure a timely transition to the top job of someone properly

qualifi ed for it? ‘Because he didn’t retire, he resigned,’ says

Madumise. ‘And you can never *know if someone is going to

resign, can you? We never knew he was going to resign.’

“His contract was only due for renewal in September 2011, so

why did he resign? ‘He was looking for greener pastures or he was

looking for something different,’ she says. ‘Who knows?’”

Well, somebody must have known, as the “greener pastures”

were a lot nearer home than Advocate Madumise implied. Former

Rail Safety Regulator CEO Mosenngwa Mofi may have resigned

in effect, but getting into his new “different” job seems to have

entailed little more than a slightish nudge sideways. Sideways

into the hot seat at Metrorail, no less. Mosenngwa Mofi , you see,

happens to be the name of their new CEO.

All of which begs Barron’s question - “Why was there no

succession plan in place to ensure a timely transition to the top

job of [rail safety regulator] of someone properly qualifi ed for it?”

Metrorail could hardly have been desperate to fi ll their position –

it didn’t exist before Mofi was appointed.

Kiwirail Chinese-built diesel loco.

OPINION – AND THE WIDER WORLD


PETE THE PUNDIT At home and around the world

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

MAGLEV FOR TOKYO-OSAKAConstruction of the long proposed 500km Japan Central Railway

Chuo Shinkansen maglev line between Tokyo and Osaka is to go

ahead. Environmental assessments are in progress for the route

through the Southern Alps to the north of Mount Fuji. It is intended

to start building in the fi nancial year beginning 1 April 2014.

The project is intended to relieve the existing Tokaido high-speed

Shinkansen expresses, halving journey times between the three

principal cities. Nagoya would be only about 40 minutes from

Tokyo and Osaka 67 minutes.

The existing superconducting maglev test track in Yamanashi

prefecture, which will form part of the new line, is being extended

from 18.4km to 42.2km, and is due for completion in 2012. The

railway has ordered a “pre-production” fl eet of 14 Series L0 maglev

vehicles for the extended

test track, which will be

delivered by 2015. The

290km initial section of

the maglev line between

Tokyo and Nagoya is

expected to open in

2027, but service on the

remainder of the line to

Osaka is unlikely to start

before 2045.

COURT OKs CAB CAMERASA Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has dismissed

allegations in a lawsuit fi led by Metrolink train drivers who

challenged the installation of video cameras in locomotive cabs.

The move was prompted by the deadly Chatsworth crash in 2008,

when a driver who was sending text messages on his cellphone

overshot a red signal and collided head-on with a freight train.

Twenty-fi ve people died and more than 100 were injured.

Judge Luis A. Lavin found no evidence that the Southern California

Regional Rail Authority, which operates the fi ve-county Metrolink

commuter rail service, had violated its drivers’ constitutional

rights to privacy and due process.

The judge ruled that the drivers were not denied due process

under their collective bargaining agreement because the railway’s

disciplinary procedures did not change after the cameras were

installed. He also ruled that the union could not establish that

the cameras represented a “true abuse of power,” a requirement

for a due-process violation.

Belgium’s 3.4km solar tunnel.

BELGIUM’S MEGAWATT TUNNELA fi rst in Europe, Belgium’s “solar tunnel” comprises 3.4km of line near Antwerp, part of the high-speed line connecting Paris and Amsterdam. The tunnel roof has been covered with 16,000 solar PV panels, an area of roughly 50,000m2. The panels will generate an estimated 3.3MWh of electricity a year (calculation based on the forecast of the average sunshine in north Belgium), equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of nearly 1,000 homes, and will decrease CO

2 emissions by

2,400 tonnes per year. The electricity will be used to power the railway infrastructure (signalling, lighting, heating of railway stations etc) and trains using the Belgian rail network. 4,000 trains per year – equivalent to one full day of rail traffi c – will be able to run entirely on solar energy. Belgium-based renewable energy company Enfi nity fi nanced, developed and built the solar tunnel project, at a cost of around £14 million.

Enfi nity UK head Bart van Renterghem explains that Solar PV has one big advantage compared to other renewable energy technologies: “You are making use of assets that weren’t productive before, using technology which does not create any sound, which has almost no visual impact, deliverable on a short time frame.” Also, he says. “I don’t know any renewable energy technology where you can start developing and realising the project and getting it operational within one year.”

Existing 18.4km Yamanashi maglev test

track which will form part of the new

Tokyo-Osaka line.

Los Angeles head-on collision between a Metrolink commuter train and a

BNSF freight consist near Chatsworth in 2008.



independent of speed, making the system particularly suited for

high-speed applications. Eddy-current brakes reduce not only

wear but also emissions of particulate matter and noise from rail

vehicles, so they are also particularly environmentally friendly.

In addition, using eddy-current brakes helps cut costs at the rail

infrastructure construction stage. For instance, the combination

of friction brakes and frictionless braking enables trains to

handle steeper gradients, which reduces the need to build tunnels

and bridges.

Knorr-Bremse’s Dr Stefan Haas donated the prize money to the

company’s Global Care organisation, to help fund construction

of a kindergarten in Rwanda. The aim of Global Care is to offer

sustained support to individuals who – through no fault of their

own – are in need as a result of environmental catastrophes,

accidents, armed confl ict, poverty or illness.

CN’s L O O O N G LOCOSeen on Newstalk650.com:“A passing train has become a serious pain to morning traffi c in

the Canadian city of Regina. In recent weeks, a locomotive

between 6,000 and 8,000 feet long has been coming along the

CN rail line just after 07:30. It’s a rail line that cuts off traffi c

along many of city’s major north to south arteries which include

McCarthy, Albert, Broad, and Winnipeg streets as well as the

Ring Road. Drivers say they often sit idle in their vehicles for over

ten minutes.”

[6,000 feet work out at the best part of 2km. That’s one mighty long

locomotive. – Editor Railways Africa.]

The judge also dismissed the privacy-invasion allegation, saying

that the union cannot reasonably expect to establish that the

cameras are highly offensive and violate social norms. Lavin also

said the camera installation was prompted by the legitimate goals

of protecting the public and determining the cause of any accident.

KNORR-BREMSE’S EDDY-CURRENT BRAKE WINS AWARDThe European Railway Award has been presented annually since

2007 for outstanding services to the railway sector. The award is

made in two categories, “technical achievements” and “political

achievements”, each of which carries a purse of €10,000. The

Community of European Railways (CER), the Association of the

European Rail Industry (UNIFE), and the European Rail Infrastructure

Managers (EIM) recently presented Knorr-Bremse Austria with

the 2011 award in the “technical achievements” category for the

development and industrialisation of the eddy-current brake.

The eddy-current brake has been in commercial service for nine

years in ICE 3 trainsets in Germany and abroad and is also installed

in the latest Velaro platform.

The principle of the linear eddy-current brake was fi rst described

back in the 19th century by the French physicist Léon Foucault.

However, before Knorr-Bremse was able to launch an eddy-

current brake for rail vehicles in commercial operation there were

numerous technical challenges to be resolved, not least in terms

of braking force limits, signalling compatibility, power supply,

availability, and mechanical installation in the bogie.

Now an industrialised product, the linear eddy-current brake

makes an ideal complement for conventional friction brakes and

regenerative brakes. The eddy-current brake enables a braking

force to be applied regardless of wheel-rail adhesion. It is not

subject to wear and the braking forces remain almost constant,

PO Box 9375, Centurion0046, South Africa

105 Theuns St. , Hennopspark, Centurion, 0157, South Africa

Tel: +27 (0)12 653-4595Fax: +27 (0)12 653-6841www.vherail.co.za


Specialists in products and services for rail cargo as well as ISO container refurbishing and wagon cleaning,

including a diverse range of products and services like the supply of newly manufactured, repaired and washed

tarpaulins and accessories.

AUXILIARY BUSINESS

Tel: +27 (0)12 391 1304 Fax: +27 (0)12 391 1371 Email: [email protected]

GM

52

0_

TR

E P

ress

lin

k

ANGOLACUANZA RIVER BRIDGEThe little town of Cuanza lies 739km from Lobito on Caminhos

de ferro de Benguela (CFB). At this point, the line crosses the

Cuanza River. In 1925, contractors George Pauling and company

spanned the watercourse with a combined road and rail bridge

comprising four 42-metre spans – the longest bridge on the railway.

The structure was destroyed during the civil war but has been

replaced recently with new road and rail bridges.

STEAM LOCOS AT CATETEA recent visitor to Catete, 65km east of Luanda on the CFL main-

line, found four locomotives still intact after a “massive cut-up

operation”. The locos seen were Henschel 4-8-0 no 156, an

unidentifi ed Armstrong-Whitworth 4-8-0, Beyer-Peacock 4-8-2

+ 2-8-4 no 501 and Krupp 4-8-2 + 2-8-4 no 554. It is hoped that

their survival suggests a possibility they may be preserved.

EGYPTCONTACTLESS TICKETS FOR CAIROCairo Metro has awarded Spanish engineering company Idom a

contract involving the implementation of contactless ticketing on

its two metro lines. The new system will optimise management of

the high passenger fl ow experienced on Lines 1 and 2 and will be

interoperable with the planned Line 3. This will link Cairo Airport

with the city’s western district, as well as the Egyptian National

Railways and other modes of transport.

The city has a population of approximately 17 million. The

metro currently transports more than 3 million passengers per

day. A public enterprise resorting under Egypt’s ministry of

transport, Cairo Metro is undergoing expansion, renovation and

modernisation of its entire network.

Repair work to the Cuanza River Bridge on Caminhos de Ferro de Benguela

(CFB). Photo courtesy Anton van Schalkwyk.

Unusual-looking, Krupp-built 4-8-2 + 2-8-4 Garratt no 555 photographed

by Charlie Lewis in 1970. Sister loco 554 was recently reported as having

escaped cutting at Catete.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) SOUTH AFRICAN EXPATRIATE

An ex-South African class 35 4xx diesel,

now owned and operated by Société

Nationale des Chemins de fer Congolais

(SNCC – the state railway in the Democratic

Republic of Congo). Photo: C van Wyk.

Cairo metro.


AFRICA UPDATEAFRICA UPDATE

AFRICA UPDATE

“Launched in l854, the Egyptian railways were the fi rst in Africa and

the Middle East and worldwide only the second after Great Britain.

Today the network connects the densely populated areas of the

Nile Delta and Upper Egypt with Cairo and Alexandria, accounting

for a big percentage of local passenger transport.

“According to its users, the l56-year-old service has reached a

stage where it has to undergo comprehensive modernisation,

despite projects implemented and promises made by successive

governments. Passengers using sleeper and luxury express trains

might not be as resigned as third class passengers who have

no other option but to board carriages lacking any degree of

cleanliness and regard for basic human requirements.

“Travelling on trains in Upper Egypt is a particularly harrowing

experience with nothing but torture, but nevertheless the

overcrowding pinpoints the fact that the railways are indispensable

for poor passengers.

“According to the railway schedule at the main Ramsis station,

30 trains head daily to the south; l4 are for low fare passengers

only, commonly known as “trains of the poor”. While these

trains already get completely crammed at Ramsis station, more

passengers jump on at the second stop in Giza, creating a

catastrophic situation.

“Passengers using these trains on a daily basis include university

students, peasants, civil servants and small traders. These trains

hardly ever come on time, and for this very reason the waiting

passengers elbow their way through the crowds to board the

trains. Though railway offi cials are aware that a carriage with a

seating capacity of l20 is boarded by no less than 500, little is

done to exercise control or increase the number of carriages on

heavily frequented lines.

“The entire scene totally horrifi es outside observers, although

passengers seem to be used to their plight. While some suit

themselves well on the fl oor, others take refuge in the upper

luggage compartments (shelves) and have a good nap until they

reach their designated stops.

“Vendors on trains pose another serious problem, since the items

they sell, particularly food and drinks, are not subject to any kind of

hygienic supervision. The condition of the trains themselves is no

secret to offi cials, drivers, commuters and potential passengers.

With open doors and broken windows that allow dust inside the

train, torn seats and fi lthy fl oors, passengers have to bear the few

hours it takes to reach their destination. Industrial safety measures

on these trains are another challenge, which the Railway Authority

is required to face, considering the high risk in these overcrowded

carriages.

“Sayeda Hassan, a woman from Upper Egypt, who has no choice

but to take the overcrowded train to visit her son in a nearby

town, recounts how she has to bear the daily torture, since she

cannot afford another means of transport. She does not mind

sitting on the fl oor, as “it is better than to stand the whole way to

el-Wassta” where she is going.

“Mohamed Saad, another regular passenger on the Cairo-Upper

Egypt line, is annoyed by smokers who blow smoke into the faces

of other passengers. He urges strict implementation of the anti-

smoking law, particularly now in this post-revolution period, when

growing concern for respecting the law is gaining momentum.

“According to Ahmed Abu Zeid, a train driver on the Upper Egypt

line, the German engines in use have outlived their time. He

warned that owing to lack of spare parts, these engines were

likely to break down and come to a dead halt at any moment.”

EGYPTIAN TRAIN MISERYSamar Ali Ezzat writes in The Gazette Online (published in Cairo):

KENYARVR TIMETABLE CHANGESRift Valley Railways (RVR) has reduced the number of stops made

by commuter trains on the Ruiri-Nairobi route. Those at Kihunguru

and Kahawa were eliminated in mid-May, to the dismay of residents.

At the same time, two additional stops have been added – at

Kasarani and Maili Saba. According to passengers, stopping at Maili

Saba is dangerous because of the hilly area.

In terms of the new schedule, the train proceeds from Githurai to

Kasarani, then Maili Saba, Dandora, Kariobangi South, Mutindwa

and Makadara to Nairobi.

RVR chairman Brown Ondego explains that the two stopping

places were dropped because of the short distance the train was

covering between one stop and the next. “Some of the stages did

not make sense at all,” Odengo says. “We are removing the stages

that are dangerous.” He adds that RVR is reducing the morning

passenger pick-up time from 05:30 to 06:00.

BOND ISSUE FOR NAIROBI COMMUTER LINKThe government - principal shareholder in Kenya Railways

Corporation (KRC) - is preparing a Sh17.2 billion bond issue to

fi nance upgrading of the Nairobi commuter rail system.

The corporation plans to build a Sh1 billion, 7km link from the

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the city centre in a bid to

ease Nairobi’s infamous traffi c jams. The project is part of KRC’s

master plan, which seeks to overhaul the entire system in the

country by 2050.

Director-general of Vision 2030 secretariat Mugo Kibati says a

cabinet paper on the proposed issue has been prepared and is

awaiting approval. The bond has been marketed already to both

local and international investors. According to Kibati, the project

is to be fully fi nanced by proceeds from the issue while the cost

of purchasing coaches estimated at between Sh10.3 billion and

Sh12.9 billion would have to be incurred by the “eventual operator”

of the system.

Treasury has allocated Sh1.9 billion this fi scal year for a proposed

upgrade of the Nairobi commuter rail system. The fi rst phase,

which is being funded by the exchequer, includes the provision of

a new station at Syokimau, and the acquisition of rolling stock. The

Sh250 million Syokimau station (on which construction has begun)

– is planned to serve as a link between road transport and the

railway. It is to have a drop off and pick up point for public service

vehicles and parking space for 1,000 cars.

AFRICA UPDATE


CHINESE $4.6BN DEAL WITH KENYA RAILWAYSJaindi Kisero writes in The East African:

“Construction company China Roads and

Bridge Corporation has successfully lobbied

Kenya to pull out of a bilateral agreement

signed with Uganda in October 2008. The

agreement committed the two neighbours

to co-operate on the building of a modern

railway link between the port of Mombasa

and Kampala.

“If the proposal by China Roads is accepted,

it will not only precipitate diplomatic

tensions, but force Uganda into seeking

partnership with Tanzania and Rwanda

to develop an alternative standard gauge

railway link through the Central corridor in

Tanzania.

“On 28 October 2008, presidents Yoweri

Museveni of Uganda and Mwai Kibaki of

Kenya made an offi cial declaration at State

House, Nairobi, that the two countries

would build a high-capacity, standard gauge

railway link between them.

“Subsequently, a bilateral agreement was

signed by the respective ministries dealing

with railways on 2 October 2009 — with

the countries committing to a seamless

modern railway between them. Kenya

was — from its own resources — to build a

standard gauge railway from Mombasa to

Malaba, with Uganda building the link to

Kampala.

“Last year, Kenya went ahead and provided

money in its annual budget to fund

preliminary designs and an environmental

impact assessment. Technical teams

from the Kenya and Uganda governments

worked together to harmonise the terms of

reference for the feasibility studies in line

with what had been agreed on under the

bilateral agreement.

“In the past two years, both countries have

been trying to procure a consultant for a

feasibility study on the project. However,

as a result of appeals and objections by

bidders, procurement of consultants by

both countries has suffered major delays.

“In March this year, the Kenya Railways

Corporation (KRC) which has been

procuring a consultant for the Kenyan

project was about to award the job to

Italian fi rm Italferr SPA, when the ministry

of transport ordered them to stop the

process immediately. ‘Since there is no

one in government who is in support of

the study, there is no need to proceed with

it,” said a letter by permanent secretary

Dr Cyrus Njiru to KRC managing director

Nduva Muli. ‘I have been directed to advise

you not to go ahead with this study as

this is not consistent with the consensus

within government.

“These latest developments offer insight

into the lobbying tactics and exploits by

Chinese companies. It would appear that

even as KRC technical offi cers and their

Ugandan counterparts were working on

the feasibility study — drawing terms of

references and holding joint meetings —

the Chinese were quietly plotting their

own move.

“Away from the limelight, the Chinese had

signed a memorandum of understanding

with then transport minister Chirau Ali

Mwakwere - in which they promised to

assist in facilitating a government-to-

government deal supported by concessional

loans from the Chinese government.

“The deal included an offer by the Chinese

to conduct a free feasibility study for

a standard gauge railway line between

Mombasa and Nairobi on condition that if

that study was adopted, China Roads and

Bridge Corporation would be involved in

the construction of the railway. By coming

up with a feasibility study covering the

Nairobi-Mombasa stretch, the Chinese left

Uganda out of the loop.

“In a letter dated 22 March 2011, the

ministry of transport simply dumped the

free feasibility study done by China Roads

and Bridge Corporation on the Ugandans,

and informed them that the Kenya

government had decided to go the route

of a government-to-government with the

Chinese.”

Kisero notes:“The Northern Corridor, anchored by the

port of Mombasa in Kenya, has an estimated

total cost of $US2.1 billion. The top priority

project list includes 18 projects - fi ve port,

fi ve rail and eight road improvements. The

projects are split almost equally between

the northern and central corridors in terms

of investment cost of $US 0.9 billion each.”

UGANDA

KENYA

TANZANIA

DodomaMorogoro

ArushaMwanza

MusomaKisumu

Bukavu

Bujumbura

Kigali

Kasese

Pakwach

Juba To Addis Ababa

TaboraKigoma Tanga

MombasaMoshi

Nairobi

EldoretTororo

BURUNDI

RWANDA

LEGENDProposed RailwayExisting Railway

Dar es Salaam

Proposed new rail lines in East Africa.


AFRICA UPDATE

Specialist manufacturers of parts and sub-assemblies for locomotives, coaches and wagons. Processes include

laser cutting, bending, forging and the fabrication of carbon and stainless steel alloys.

ROLLING STOCK EQUIPMENT BUSINESS


GM

51

8_

TR

E P

ress

lin

k

the development of Malawi, but also handle exports of the entire

copper belt region of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of

Congo. All the necessary production inputs could be imported

via Nacala.

In mid-April, Vale and the Malawian government signed a

memorandum of understanding in Lilongwe, prefacing the building

of a new 100km railway from a point east of Moatize to southern

Malawi, from where an existing line runs to Nacala.

Nacala is generally regarded as the best deep-water port on

the east African coast. It is a natural harbour that requires no

dredging, and can accommodate ships of any size. Despite these

enormous advantages, it is sadly underused.

This year, Agnelli said, Vale plans to sell 1.2 million tonnes of

coal. Next year the production target is 7 million tonnes, of which

4 million will be sold. Production and exports will be notched up

until Vale exports 22 million tonnes a year. “The constraints lie in

the port and the railways”, Agnelli explains. “So we have to

accelerate investment in the line from Moatize to Beira, and

accelerate the Nacala project. Nacala will be the future”.

Agnelli envisions exports up to 40 million tonnes a year eventually.

“The limitation is not the coal reserves, it’s not how much the

mine can produce”, he says. “The limitations are the railways and

the port. That’s why it’s fundamental to develop Nacala as soon

as possible”.

Agnelli expects it to take four or fi ve years to complete the $US4

billion’s worth of investment required in the new railway and in

upgrading Nacala harbour facilities. Vale intends to export to

Asian markets, notably China, to the Middle East, and eventually

Brazil. “The steel industry must produce to meet the needs of

urbanisation in Asia”, he points out. “It’s a gigantic process. In the

coming years we will see very strong demand for coking coal for

steel production”.

NIGERIA LAGOS LRT BLUE LINELagos State governor Babatunde Fashola has carried out a pre-

shipment inspection of rolling stock for the new light rail system.

The coaches are under construction in Canada. The 27km Blue

MOROCCOLIGHT RAIL OPENS IN RABATKing Mohammed VI of Morocco has commissioned the country’s

fi rst light rail tramway, which links the capital Rabat with its twin-

city Salé. Costing €318 million, the 20km system, comprising two

lines, was constructed within the framework of the Bouregred

Valley development project. (The Bouregred River separates the

two cities.). The objective is to ease congestion in crossing the

river and to bring the twin cities closer together.

The vehicles supplied as part of the project have low fl oors and

air-conditioning. The 580-passenger capacity per set is equivalent

to that of 10 to 12 buses. An hourly fare of €0.6 applies. The

number of people who will benefi t directly or indirectly is

estimated at 60 million passengers per year.

MOZAMBIQUENACALA ACCORDING TO VALEChairman of Brazilian mining giant Vale, Roger Agnelli, speaking

to reporters in Moatize, said the Nacala port and rail system in

northern Mozambique can be a major factor in the development

of sub-Saharan Africa. Nacala he said could not only facilitate

P

P

PHay Karima

Tabriket

Atlantic

OceanSalé

Medina

Rabat

Medina

River Bouregreg

Agdal

Carrefour Bettana

Gare RoutiéreRabat-Salé

Rabat-Ville

YacoubEl Mansour

Bab Al Irfane

University

0 3 km

P

RABAT

Light Rail

ONCF Lines

Park & Ride

Moulay ElHassan Bridge

Rabat light rail line.


AFRICA UPDATE

PERFORMANCE

Your Specialist Partner ForMechanised RailwayTrack Maintenance

& ConstructionMachinery

Plasser South Africa (PTY) Ltd

20 Lautre Rd, Stormill, Roodepoort; P O Box 103 Maraisburg, 1700

Tel: (011) 761-2400 Telefax: (011) 474-3582 email: [email protected]

“The North West Rail is an initial 254km line with stations,

sidings, weighbridges and loops from Chingola through Solwezi to

Lumwana with a second phase planned to extend it to Angola’s

Benguela line at point to be mutually agreed by authorities in

both Zambia and our oil-rich neighbouring country.

“The take-off point is from south of the bridge over the main

Chingola to Chililabombwe road, connecting the existing rail link

formerly owned by ZCCM, which feeds into the Railway Systems

of Zambia (RSZ) network. The line runs south of the Chingola-

Solwezi road up to 15km, and then crosses the road before

meandering through a number of watersheds on its way via

the chiefdoms of Kalilele and Mulonga, eventually entering the

Kansanshi mine area and terminating at Lumwana, 65km west of

Solwezi.

“An alternative route explored would have taken the rail from

Luano in Chingola across the Kafue Bridge into Chililabombwe

and over the watershed between the DRC and Zambia. This is the

old Copperbelt to Mwinilunga road; however, public opinion settled

for the current route.

“The urgency and need to lay rail line to connect North Western

province to the rest of Zambia and beyond the frontiers of this

country has never been more so than now.

“North Western province, with its vast natural resource wealth,

is currently witnessing unprecedented levels of foreign capital

being poured into the area. Many entrepreneurs and international

mining fi rms are positioning themselves to tap into the huge

reserves of copper, gold, iron and other mineral resources known

to exist in the area.

“Looking at the current trends, one would safely assume that

foreign direct investments into the mining sector in the area

would hit over $US6 billion in the next fi ve years, from the current

Line, to be operated by Ekorail, will run from Okokomaiko in the

west to CMS in Central Lagos. Work on the infrastructure is in

progress between the National Theatre in Iganmu and Mile 2.

All the columns for the elevated Alaba station concourse at

the Lagos end of the line have been cast and work on the

superstructure is under way. The planners envisage commuters

driving to stations and taking the train, instead of facing the

current nightmare of driving into town.

Though passenger train services from Lagos to Kano are

expected to resume at the end of the third quarter of 2011, the

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. Lagos district manager of

the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) John Dottie says contracts

for the rehabilitation of the western main-line from Lagos via

Jebba to Kano, which were awarded to two companies, are nearing

completion and should be ready by the end of the second quarter.

The contract for rehabilitation of the line from Lagos to Jebba

was awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction

Company (CCECC), while that from Jebba to Kano was awarded to

Costain West Africa. “The Chinese company has assured us that

by the end of June, they are going to give us the section from

Lagos to Jebba,” Dottie says.

Reacting to the planned launch of rail services from Lagos to

Ilorin, which was aborted at Ibadan, Dottie said it was due to

unforeseen problems on the track. “We would have been able to

go from Lagos to Jebba, but during inspection of the tracks we

discovered some faults, and since we place safety fi rst, we had

to terminate the journey in Ibadan.”

Dottie said contracts for the eastern main-line have been awarded

to three companies - from China, Turkey and Nigeria. All have

been mobilised and are “on the ground”. Work is expected to be

completed in 10 months.

ZAMBIAZAMBIAN NORTH-WEST RAILWAYAccording to Zambian North West Rail Company (NWR) executive chairman Enoch Kavindele:

“The abundant natural resources including minerals of the North

Western Province have been known about for a long time, ever

since George Gray founded Kansanshi Mine in 1891.

“The discovery of copper at Lumwana by Rio Tinto and RST in 1961

failed to materialise into viable mining projects because of the

absence of regional infrastructure.

“It has always been observed that the upgrading of the highway,

construction of power lines and power generation in the province

would trigger off massive development. This is now becoming a

reality with the construction by Zesco of enhanced power lines

to the Kansanshi and Lumwana Mines, the development of the

Kabompo hydro power project by CEC and now the railway. The

sleeping giant that the province has been will now awaken to take

its rightful place in the economic development of the country.

ZAMBIA

NDOLA

LUBUMBASHI

COPPER BELT

Katanga Province

Chingola

Nkana/Kitwe

Mufulira

Mokambo

Sakania

Luanshya

To Kabwe

ZAMBIADEMOCRATIC

REPUBLIC OF CONGO

N0 km 80 km 160 km

Existing railways in the Copperbelt.


AFRICA UPDATE

levels of slightly below $2 billion. The Chinese alone envisage an

investment of over $5 billion in the Mwinilunga mining project,

while an iron and ore project at Tika is also being touted.

“These planned projects are in addition to First Quantum Minerals’

plans to open the ‘Trident Mine’ at Kalumbila in Solwezi that is

expected to gobble over $1.1 billion.

“The agriculture potential of the area is also coming to the fore

as evidenced by a number of foreign entrepreneurs going into the

province to take advantage of the highly nutritious soils and good

rainfall patterns, to grow crops on a very large scale. Brazilian and

Zambian investors are looking at investing in a sugar estate to

produce biofuels, while Saudi Arabians have been granted 5,000

hectares to grow pineapples in Mwinilunga.

“The North Western province has weak connectivity currently to

the rest of the country, and in some cases it is non-existent. The

decision by the government of Zambia to reinstate the licence of

the North West Rail Company has attracted much interest, and

justifi ably so. This is going to be the biggest infrastructural project

to be driven by indigenous citizens in the history of Zambia.

“Some unique features of the project include the fact that the

locomotives will be powered by both electricity and diesel,

balancing the utilisation of the two sources of energy. To get

the project under way, we presented a viable project to various

fi nanciers and are delighted with the interest that we have

generated from key fi nanciers from within the region, Chinese,

US and Europe, with concrete fi nancial commitments from US

private equity funds.

“The responses continue to exceed our present needs by far.

Generating such level of interest has already involved thousands

of man-hours and signifi cant expenditure by the project sponsors

including an aerial survey, the pre-feasibility study and the

engaging of several local and international consultants.

“The cost of the line from Chingola to Lumwana is $500 million.

Our fi nanciers, especially those from the US, would like us to

include a spur to Kolwezi in the DRC and have undertaken to

provide additional funding and necessary support including

extra locomotives, rolling stock, signalling equipment and all the

necessary ingredients to ensure the project comes on stream.

Currently the various companies are dependent on the over-

burdened and - in most instances - dilapidated road network for

their bulk cargo.

“Given the complexity and magnitude of this project, experienced

international contractors and consultants have been identifi ed

to lead the project, while discussions have commenced with

Zambian sub-contractors.

“Although this project is a combination of debt and equity

fi nancing, mostly from foreign partners, the project is indigenously

driven and the doors remain open to other Zambians to participate

both in its execution and operation.

www.railwaysafrica.com

The ultimate aim will be to see NWR listing on the Lusaka Stock

Exchange to further involve the participation of ordinary Zambians.

“There is now available automated track-laying equipment

capable of laying 1km of rail line per day but we have opted to

utilise a combination of this technology and a local labour-force

to ensure employment is generated. In the two-year anticipated

construction period, this project is expected to create not less

than 4,000 direct jobs with an additional 10,000 jobs for support

staff such as caterers, food suppliers, suppliers of safety clothing,

gravel, ballast, cement, sleepers and many more.

“Historically, developments of rail lines to the resource-rich areas

have always been driven by private investors as was the case

when the British South Africa Company (BSA) of Cecil Rhodes built

the line from Livingstone to Chililabombwe, and Sussman Brothers

and Wulfson built the stretch from Livingstone to Mulobezi, to

transport timber.

“We are of course aware of Government’s concern about the

operations of RSZ and believe that an improved RSZ and Tazara

will be in the interests of investors in the NWR as well, since

synergies of working together will exist. And it is our hope that

RSZ and government will continue their dialogue in order to

continuously improve the state and performance of the main-line

between Livingstone and the Copperbelt.” Former National Railways of Zimbabwe class 15 Garratt no 398 - looking a

bit worse for wear after the long sea journey - has arrived safely at its new

preservation home in Paekakariki, North Island, New Zealand.

Photo: Reid McNaught.

ZIMBABWESTEAM ACTIVITY AT NRZReport by Chas Rickwood on zimrail:

The Bulawayo steam shed steam crane has been busy fi tting a

front tank to 20th class no 730 and it is now looking like a loco

again. Garratt 611 was in for washout after its trip out to Cement

on 17 May. No 395 was also undergoing washout and 416 was

idle. No 613 was out on the West End shunt.

Reports from the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) say that

hard water is a problem at most watering points on the north line.

This is mostly borehole water and recent rains have aggravated

the problem.

IS SHUNTING AND TRACK SWITCHING A PROBLEM?Surtees Railways Supplies, has the solutionTrackmobile Railcar, bi-model, road and rail movers have all the required

safety features to conform to your Railway Safety needs:

>> Up to 19250 kg tractive effort

>> Tier 3 electronic diesel engine

>> Hydraulic rail & road brakes

>> Vacuum train brake controls

>> 16 CFM engine drive train air brakes - optional to 100 CFM

>> Power steering / Automatic 4 speed transmission

>> Air operated coupler release

>> Fully enclosed cab with controls integrated into the driver’s seat

>> Excellent entry level costs with low operational costs

SURTEES RAIL GROUP - HEAD OFFICEP.O Box 40178, Cleveland, 2022, Republic of South Africa

93 Whitworth Road, Heriotdale, Johannesburg, Gauteng, Republic of South Africa

Tel: +27 11 626-3516 Fax: +27 11 626-1171/28 [email protected]

www.surtees.co.za

SERVICING THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

CD46

4_SU

RTEE

S_Pr

essl

ink

AFRICA UPDATE

Specialist producers of a range of cast products for the rail industry from locomotive, wagon and passenger

coach parts through to state-of-the-art permanent way components. We also serve the mining, automotive

and marine industries.

FOUNDRY BUSINESS


GM

52

1_

TR

E P

ress

lin

k

On the continuously-welded tracks of the

Orex iron-ore and Richards Bay heavy-haul

coal lines, Transnet Freight Rail faces a

constant threat of trains derailing, often as

a result of broken rails.

As the trains are up to 3.7km long,

derailments are costly. Equipment and

infrastructure get damaged and signifi cant

delays are caused, explains Council for

Scientifi c and Industrial Research (CSIR)

materials science and manufacturing

division sensor science and technology

manager Jeremy Wallis.

Transnet contracted the Institute for

Maritime Technology (IMT) in Simon’s Town

to develop a broken-rail detector system

– one that could operate in real time and

remotely – in other words, something that

could be left unattended to do its work.

Railway lines are normally checked using a

specialised ultrasonic inspection vehicle,

as well as by personnel pushing portable

ultrasonic scanners along the rails. Both

procedures are labour and time-intensive.

IMT’s solution, achieved in partnership

with the CSIR, adapts underwater sonar

technology and neatly translates it for use

in places like the Northern Cape, where

temperatures can range from -10˚C to

50˚C.

A transducer is bolted on the rail. When

it vibrates, the rail itself vibrates at an

ultrasonic frequency nobody can hear. The

displacement of these vibrations is in the

nanometer range. The sound propagates

down the rail for a distance of up to 1.5km,

where the electronics check for the arrival

of a valid signal. Should a valid signal not

be detected within a set time-period,

an alarm is sent to the centralised train

control room,

This means that hundreds of kilometres

of rail can be monitored continuously and

remotely, with Transnet able to pinpoint the

section where a rail break has occurred.

The ultrasonic broken rail detection system

has been evaluated in service on Transnet

freight lines for a number of years, and

successfully detected a number of rail

breaks – two during last year alone –

thereby avoiding two potentially costly

derailments. Many others have tried, but

the Transnet/IMT/CSIR partnership is the

fi rst to get it working, says Wallis.

The system, which has attracted

considerable attention from the

international rail community, has been

tested in Canada, Hong Kong, on the New

York subway and (currently) in Japan. Some

tests were more successful than others,

Wallis admits, as rail tracks have different

shapes and lengths, and operate under

different ambient temperatures.

“We have worked to make it functional

on almost any line,” Wallis says. IMT has

registered patents on the overall system,

and CSIR is busy patenting key aspects

of the ultrasound technology. “We are

currently trying to secure funding to

present a fi nal, industrialised design. The

idea is to transfer the technology to a

commercial partner in the next two to three

years.”

Track on the Sishen-Saldanha heavy-haul ore line. Photo: TFR.

WELL DONE, SHOSH MEYL!From Nathan JC, posted on Hellopeter.com, 28 February 2011:

“I had to go to Pietermaritzburg urgently from Johannesburg. I got to Park Station only to

fi nd that all the buses were booked.

Someone suggested I try a train. I went to the Shosholoza Meyl booking offi ce. The lady that

assisted me was very professional and friendly. The booking was quick and simple.

“When I got to the train, there were people helping to carry your luggage and to show you

to your compartment. I found all the train’s facilities to be clean and comfortable. I did not

once feel insecure as there where plenty of security staff on the train.

“The train staff, from the train manager to the assistants, were professional, friendly and

eager to assist.

“Well done Shosholoza Meyl!”


RAIL NEWSSOUTH AFRICAN

SA RAIL NEWS

PERMANENT WAY FAULT DETECTIONAdapted from Engineering News:

“While most of the world were glued to their TVs on 29 April,

watching the royal couple taking their nuptials, I was out in the

country playing trains.

“Following a major derailment at Klapmuts on Easter Friday [see

under “Mishaps” on page 46], the main-line 47km north of Cape

Town was closed for three days. I was hoping to pick up some of

the trains clearing the backlog.

“I fi rst went to Klapmuts to look at the damage - wagons all over

the countryside. Work on the track and overhead was continuing.

“I travelled up the line with red signals in both directions at

all stations - not promising! I decided that if I saw nothing by

Hermon, I would shoot over to the Malmesbury line and

photograph whatever was moving there. At Hermon however, I

was greeted by the sight of a fearsome pall of smoke over the

station yard - two class 33s from Worcester were shunting a

long string of cement wagons that they had just brought off the

Riebeeck West branch. After setting out most of the load destined

for Bellville in sidings, they departed for Worcester with four DZs

of cement. They crossed a southbound freight at Hermon and I

snapped them as they came through Tulbagh Kloof (photo 1).

“Afterwards I went and had a look at Tulbagh Road station -

totally stripped. While I was there, the main-line signals winked

to green and the Cape Town- Johannesburg Shosh Meyl came

through. Both the economy and tourist classes are now combined

into one train (18 vehicles) - this makes economic sense and is

how things should have been run in the fi rst place, instead of

having two separate services.

“I followed the train through to Breërivier where the opposing

passenger express was crossed - and then back towards the

kloof. It proved impossible to follow the train - there are so many

trucks on the R44 road, it being the preferred alternative to the

north as it avoids the N1 tolls). This includes a large number of

grain-carrier road trucks - a commodity that should never have

been allowed to be lost by rail !! I still managed a good shot

of the train passing through Artois (photo 2) and another at

Hermon (photo 3).

“Then I went back to other side of Wolseley and gardened a spot

at one of the Breede River bridges in preparation for the

southbound Premier Classe. Everything looked good, but a solitary

pesky cloud killed the light as the train appeared. More trucks

held me up on the road and I just a managed a grab shot at

Artois but this time made it to the kloof (photo 4). It’s

interesting to see that a second car-carrier wagon is being used

on the train - this is a new SCJ commercial type and was not in

Shosh Meyl colours.

“The Premier Classe crossed another freight at Hermon, but

apart from the other freight train that was observed in the

morning, there was no goods traffi c moving – one assumes as an

effect of the extra, extra long weekend.

“I tried a few more shots southbound, but the previous pesky

cloud’s cousins conspired to ruin both chosen spots. Thereafter

I made enquiries at Wellington cabin but nothing was due for a

while (now of course with brilliant lighting) so I headed for home”.

OUT & ABOUT IN THE WESTERN CAPE From Peter Rogers:

1

2

3

4

SA RAIL NEWS


TRANSNET FLEET RENEWALPublic enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba, speaking to the South

Africa Chamber of Commerce, said the government is to fund

the procurement of “consistent and signifi cant quantities of both

electric and diesel locomotives annually over the next 15 years.”

The average age of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) locomotives is

currently 33 years. “We need both to bring down the age of the

fl eet and add signifi cant capacity if we are to unlock TFR’s

customer growth potential and move goods from road to rail,”

Gigaba says.

TFR previously announced it will invest R52bn ($US 7.49bn) in

rolling stock and infrastructure in the years 2010-15, adding 304

new locomotives which will make up around 15% of the fl eet.

The government is keen to partner international suppliers with

South African manufacturers with the aim of more than doubling

local content in new locomotives. New sources of fi nance need to

be explored if capacity is to be further enhanced on the heavy-haul

ore and coal lines. Further investment is limited by the strength of

TFR’s balance sheet, Gigaba explains.

MONTANA ON PASSENGER RAIL CRISISThe Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has warned again of a

crisis if new trains are not introduced by 2014.

“If we don’t get new trains, our ability to transport [people] to

work will be greatly undermined,” Prasa chief executive Lucky

Montana told reporters in Johannesburg. “We have rolling stock

over 40 years old. The level of reliability of that fl eet is very low.”

Montana said Prasa has submitted a feasibility study on new rolling

stock to cabinet for approval. Once this is obtained, procurement

would begin.

“It is important to understand that while this is a process that

will be undertaken over an 18-year period, due to its magnitude,

the fi rst new trainsets will enter the passenger rail system in the

next three years - by 2014,” Montana explained.

Should this not happen, a crisis similar the one when Eskom had

power blackouts would hit the country. “We are going to have

another Eskom if the fi rst 350 coaches do not go into service in

2013. We cannot turn back from this. If there is any delay we are

going to be in trouble.”

The 8,600 coaches that would come into service over the next

18 years would be “completely modern, energy effi cient”, and

similar to the Gautrain. “We need at least 600 coaches to come

into our service a year, starting from 2014,” Montana said.

PRASA DIVERSIFIES SUPPLIERSPassenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) CEO Lucky Montana

told a media briefi ng in Johannesburg that the company’s

maintenance suppliers have been “diversifi ed”. Instead of relying

solely on Transnet Rail Engineering (TRE) for maintenance. Prasa

now has contracts with seven separate companies.

This rearrangement follows a long-running dispute between Prasa

and TRE over maintenance costs, which Montana says was not

settled fi nally until the end of 2010.

PRASA’S R97 BILLION OUTLAYOn 5 April. South African transport minister Sibusiso Ndebele

announced an impressive programme to procure new rolling stock

for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa). To be rolled

out over 18 years, the declared aim is to reposition rail as the

“backbone” of public transport.

There has been more than usual disparity in fi gures reported

in the press, ranging from 6,000 to 8,600 new coaches to be

bought and 2,000 locomotives. As far as we can make out from

offi cial sources, the reality envisaged looks like this: For Metrorail

in the short term: 862 additional coaches; in the medium-to-

long-term 6,296 coaches. The possibility of multiple-unit diesel or

hybrid electric & diesel units is mentioned for the Eastern Cape

(a strategy, incidentally, recommended by consultants more than

20 years ago). For Shosholoza Meyl: 1,195 coaches (sleeper; sitter;

dining; catering/grill; power cars). A total of 124 locomotives

(not quite 2,000!) comprising 76 x 3kV DC; 21 x 25kV AC and 27

diesel-electric.

Our thanks to Peter Bagshawe for deciphering various documents

and websites.

MANAGEMENT IS THE PROBLEM – PRASAPassenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) CEO Lucky Montana

blames much of Metrorail’s reliability problems on “lazy and

unreliable managers”. He told a media briefi ng in Johannesburg:

“There have been numerous complaints and protest marches

about our service.”

A 12-month investigation showed that a lack of effective

management and supervision underlies Metrorail’s poor service

Prior to South Africa’s class 43 currently being delivered, no main-line

diesels had been acquired since these class 37 locos (EMD GT26M2C)

built in 1981 & 1982. Photo: Andre Kritzinger.

These 5M2A Metrorail sets are up to 40 years old. Photo: C Baker.


SA RAIL NEWS

Specialists in the manufacturing and refurbishing of all types of railway wheelsets for the Southern African

region, using the latest technology in wheel-profiling portal lathes and laser measuring equipment.

WHEEL BUSINESS


GM

517

_T

RE

Pre

ssli

nk

delivery. Because of a lack of proper supervision, accountability

and scheduling, both management and operating staff (including

train drivers) have been failing to report for work.

“We have heard the voices of commuters and have an action

plan aimed at improving their travel experience,” Montana says.

The plan he explains includes “cracking the whip on ill-disciplined

managers”. It has been decided to cut “about 200, or 30%” of

Prasa’s 500-strong middle management and supervisors, to rid

the company of what Montana calls “cheque takers”. Measures

are to be introduced immediately and will be reviewed after

three months.

[Meanwhile a new top post has been created under Montana: CEO

of Prasa-Rail, which consists of Metrorail and Shosholoza Meyl only.

Mosenngwa Mofi , previously CEO of the Railway Safety Regulator,

has been appointed. - Editor.]

COAL LINE SHUTDOWNTransnet Freight Rail’s coal line to Richards Bay was shut down

from 23 May to 11 June 2011 for a 20-day planned maintenance

operation. This was reported by the government information

service publication Buanews, quoting railway spokesman

Sandile Simelane.

The report added: “The 580km coal line, which starts in

Mpumalanga and runs through KwaZulu-Natal to Richards Bay, is

fully electrifi ed with two 100-wagon trains, with one 200-wagon

train at Ermelo.”

[Only three trains? Go fi gure. – Editor: Railways Africa.]

Tel: +27 11 794-2910 | Fax: +27 11 794-3560 | Email: [email protected] | Web: www.yalejhb.co.za

The Witblitz fast container train, seen hurrying through the Western Cape

19 years ago behind two class 38 electro-diesels. Even the Blue Train was

sidelined to let the Witblitz overtake. Photo: Editor.

CUTTING 6 HRS OFF JBG-CTPassenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) CEO Lucky Montana says the slow speed of existing Shosholoza Meyl trains between Johannesburg and Cape Town “will never work”. The line is capable of sustaining speeds between 140 and 160km/h and that, he says, is how fast these expresses should be travelling: “It would cut six hours off the present schedule”.

(As a matter of fact, the “Witblitz” fast container train managed this twenty years ago, even though CTC was not as continuous as it is now. ie very nearly all the way.)


SA RAIL NEWS

SCAW METALSGROUP

SPECIALIST CASTINGS FOR THE RAILROAD INDUSTRYSPECIALIST CASTINGS FOR THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY

Tel: +27 11 842-9303 • Fax: +27 11 842-9710Website: www.scaw.co.za

The Scaw Metals Group (Scaw) is an international group, manufacturing a diverse range of steel products. Its principaloperations are located in South Africa, South America, Canada and Australia. Smaller operations are in Namibia,Zimbabwe and Zambia. Scaw’s specialist castings for the railroad industry include bogies used in freight cars,locomotives and passenger cars. Other products manufactured include:

Freight car castings:• Side Frames • Bolsters• Yokes • Cast steel monobloc wheels• Draw-gear components• Centre plates

Cast steel frames for locomotives:• Steerable locomotive frames• Mounting for electrical parking brakes and brakehangers• Traction motor end shields and suspension tubes in cast

steel, manufactured to customer requirements

Passenger car castings:• High speed, high stability radial axle bogies for motored

and unmotored passenger vehicles• Self steering bogies• Fully machined frames ready for assembly into bogies,

including the fitting of bushings and wear plates• Integrally cast brake hanger brackets and mounting

for auxiliary equipment

Scaw has produced castings for the railroad industry since 1921and is a technological leader in this field and has participated in thedevelopment of unique designs such as the cast adaptor sub-frameassembly used in the “Scheffel” radial axle truck.

Scaw manufactures castings under licence to various licensors, butis an open foundry with the capability to undertake work accordingto individual customer requirements. The company has producedthousands of sets of steel castings for freight cars for both the localand export markets. These include side frames and bolsters thathave been approved by the Association of American Railroads foruse on North American railroads.

Scaw supplies globally and also offers nationwide distributionin South Africa through its strategically located branchesthroughout the country.

Fabf

orm

Gra

phic

s cc

(011

) 622

-991

7

PRASA COMPENSATION “VOLUNTARY”Compensation by the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) for

victims of two recent serious accidents – one north of Pretoria and

the other in Soweto - is on a “voluntary” basis, says spokeswoman

Nana Zenani. Anyone opting for settlement has to sign an

agreement that they would not pursue further legal claims.

However she explained: “The fi nancial assistance is separate from

medical costs which are being covered entirely by Prasa”.

Meanwhile it has been suggested in media coverage that

immediate compensation is being offered so as to avert much

larger personal injury law suits. Zenani warns of “unscrupulous

lawyers” in this regard.

MINSK STATION BOMB KILLS 11 On 11 April 2011, an explosion in a subway station in the Belarusian

capital of Minsk during the evening rush hour killed 11 people

and wounded 126. The station is within 100 metres of the

presidential administration building and the Palace of the

Republic, a concert hall often used for government functions.

Witnesses said the bomb exploded as passengers were stepping

off a train at about 18:00. The Oktyabrskaya station, where

Minsk’s two subway lines intersect, was crowded at the time.

DERAILMENT ON CULLINAN BRANCHIn mid-May, two class 34 diesel locos derailed on the Cullinan

branch east of Pretoria as a result of sleeper theft. In the last

At about 17:50 on 19 May, a Metrorail commuter train from

Johannesburg ran into the rear of Soweto Business Express #2

between the Mzimhlophe and Phomolong stations. Evidently

there was no derailment, but an incredible number of injuries was

reported – initially 250, then 644 and fi nally 857. Press reports

spoke of “only two serious cases detained in hospital”, but dramatic

TV shots showed busy hospital scenes and at least one woman with

a broken leg and arm.

Speculation over the number of injuries included the possibility of

“try-ons” hoping for compensation hand-outs. But no doubt there

were standing passengers, many of them lodged insecurely in the

customary open doorways. Panic after the collision seems likely,

with people struggling to get out of the trains. Paramedics spoke

of people lying scattered “over a wide area” and it took some fi ve

hours to clear the scene. Train services on the line were cancelled

and buses brought in.

According to an offi cial statement from Metrorail, “Commuters

using the Soweto Business Express 2 will be greatly affected as the

train will be out of operation until further notice. They are requested

to make alternative arrangements.”

A team of inspectors from the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) was

at the scene soon after the accident.

Metrorail announced subsequently that the train driver had been

dismissed. Investigations revealed that he had been travelling at

more than twice the authorised speed, and had run through two

red signals.

Among steps taken afterwards, the regulation permitting trains to

proceed cautiously past automatic block signals at danger, after

waiting three minutes, was amended to prohibit this procedure. In

addition, it was proposed to use retired drivers to retrain newer

appointees.

Business Class express rear-ended in Soweto. Photos: ER24.

SOWETO CRASH HURTS 250, 644, 857….


Mishaps & BlundersMishaps & BlundersOne objective of our regular feature reporting and commenting on rail mishaps is to provide information and object lessons from Africa and abroad, in the hope that – in some cases at least - this might help avoid recurrences.

MISHAPS & BLUNDERS

Specialists and leading supplier of maintenance, repair, upgrade and manufacturing services in Southern Africa

for AC, DC and diesel-electric units.

LOCOMOTIVE BUSINESS


GM

51

4_

TR

E P

ress

lin

k

“utter chaos”. People tried to walk down

the track due to lack of communication.

This caused further problems.

COMMUTERS BURN ARGENTINIAN TRAINSFrom the British press, 4 May 2011:Angry mobs in Argentina burned train

coaches in at least three stations after a

derailment caused long delays to commuter

services on 2 May.

Police said the mobs also attacked ticket

booths, train conductors and police

offi cers who were trying to restore order.

Huge plumes of smoke soared from a

least three trains along the Sarmiento line,

which links the capital, Buenos Aires, with

its western suburbs. Dozens of people

were involved in the mayhem with several

arrests.

Gustavo Gago, a spokesman for Buenos

Aires Trains, said it was not easy to set a

train alight, but the mobs appeared quite

organised, destroying security cameras and

coming prepared for arson.

SORRY NO SHOSH MEYL – NO LOCOSAccording to a 4 May radio report:Passengers booked on a Shosholoza Express to Johannesburg on 3 May were told at Cape Town that the train had been cancelled as there were no locomotives.

REAR-ENDER KILLS TWOOn 17 April, a coal consist rear-ended

another eastbound train at McPherson,

about 72km south-east of Council

Bluffs near Red Oak, Iowa, killing two

crew members and shutting down the

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)

main-line. Ten wagons of the stationary

train were derailed, as well as the lead

loco of the coal train. According to BNSF

spokesman Gus Melonas, the 135-wagon

coal train was heading to Chicago from

the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. The

other train comprised 34 wagons of rail

maintenance equipment moving from

Bridgeport, Nebraska, to Creston, Iowa.

Both trains had two-person crews. The

weekend of May, more sleepers were

stolen, resulting in the cancellation of a

charter train that was to have overnighted

at Cullinan

POINTS MOTORS STOLENDuring May, electric points motors were

stolen at Capital Park yard and on the

line from Pretoria North to Rustenburg. A

28 May hook-up at Bon Accord north of

Pretoria (loco pantograph tangling in and

bringing down the overhead) resulted in

the main-line to Pietersburg (Polokwane)

being closed.

CHAOS IN UK TUNNELOn 25 May, passengers on a train that failed

near Kentish Town station at 18:30 due

to electrical supply problems complained

that they were stuck in a tunnel for nearly

three hours with no water, air conditioning

or communication. The train was towed

back to Kentish Town station at 21:15.

Following the incident, “limited services”

were reinstated accompanied by warnings

of “severe delays” into the early hours.

One passenger said the commuter train

had been “packed like sardines” and it was

Sales and rentals of locomotives, trackmobiles and other rolling stock.Repair/reconditioning of locomotives, trackmobiles and other rolling stock in our Pretoria West based workshop and on site.Repair/reconditioning of all locomotive and other rolling stock equipment (engines, bogies, turbo chargers, air and vacuum brake valves and auxiliaries, compressors and exhausters, couplers and draft gears etc.)Service exchange components for most major items on present day locomotives, which include traction motors, bogies, power packs, expressors and main generators etc.A full range of spare parts for locomotives and rail wagons, most of which are available off the shelf.Sales and rentals of electrical, mechanical and air jacking systems for the lifting of locomotives and rail wagons etc, on site.Operation and control of entire rail systems ranging from the maintenance of customers own locomotives and rolling stock to the control and transport of their products and the maintenance of their railway tracks and switch/signalling systems.

SPECIALIZING IN THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY

OPERATIONS &

WORKSHOP

No1 Frikkie Meyer RoadPretoria WestGautengRepublic of South Africa

Tel: +27 12 307-7251Fax: +27 12 [email protected]

HEAD OFFICE

P.O Box 40178Cleveland2022Republic of South Africa

93 Whitworth RoadHeriotdale, JohannesburgGautengRepublic of South Africa

Tel: +27 11 626-3516Fax: +27 11 626-1171/[email protected]

>>>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

SURTEES RAIL GROUP

MISHAPS & BLUNDERS

We offer proven rail products with strong after sales service and support in the key markets of:

Our locally manufactured and assembled product offerings are further enhanced by reliably engineered

products supplied through strategic alliances with leading international and locally based Original G

M59

2_Pr

essl

ink

magnitude earthquake struck. Minutes later, a tsunami slammed

into large swaths of the Senseki line, rendering its tracks unusable.

The stretch at Nobiru, about halfway down the line, was one of

the hardest hit. The station building’s windows were shattered

and its roof needs major repair. It one of the few among thousands

of buildings in this beach neighbourhood that wasn’t ripped from

its foundations and swept away.

On 21 April, US soldiers and a team of Japanese ground troops

arrived at Nobiru to clean out the station. The American army group

comprised parachute riggers, missile operators, mechanics and

others who have been helping Japan since 20 March.

At Nobiru, the station was jam-packed with sludge.

Inside, feral animals had made themselves at home. On the day

following the helpers’ arrival, it rained, adding a new element of

mustiness. According to Sergeant Joshua Mason from Georgia, a

veteran of the Iraq War from 2003, “It looked a lot like Baghdad

did, except for the pine trees”.

No one knows when trains will reach Nobiru again. Japan Rail says

that Senseki line service will be restored for the fi rst 26km from

Sendai, ie to a point about 8km short of Nobiru, by the end of May.

The track remains covered with dirt, electric lines, debris and

mangled machinery. Almost 2km from the station, the tsunami

dumped a 7.5m boat on the line: this has still to be moved.

ROSSLYN COLLISION

On 8 April, one fully-laden Metrorail passenger train rear-ended

another that was stationary on a bridge above John Vorster Drive

in Rosslyn, north-west of Pretoria. Both were en route to

Mabopane. One person died in the collision, which saw coaches

knocked onto their sides. Some 200 injury cases were reported.

conductor and driver of the coal train were killed in the collision,

but those on the other train were not injured.

DERAILMENT NEAR KLAPMUTSIn a major derailment near Klapmuts, 47km north of Cape Town

on Easter Friday 22 April, a number of fl at wagons came off the

line and containers were destroyed. The main-line remained closed

for three days. Southbound passenger trains terminated at

Worcester and passengers were taken to Cape Town by bus. A

single track was opened on Monday 25 April and traffi c started to

move.

Peter Rogers, who visited the scene a week later - on 29 April -

reported: “There were wagons all over the countryside. Apparently

the cause was a mechanical failure on the train, though the

locos did not come off.”

FORCED STOP FOR TRAIN WITH SICK PASSENGERSOn 26 April, a Canadian Via Rail passenger train bound for

Vancouver was forced to make an extended stop in Edmonton

after 11 passengers became ill. Medical help was called in when

the train, which originated in Toronto, made a scheduled stop in

Edmonton. One passenger who was getting off in Edmonton was

taken to hospital.

Medical personnel determined the illnesses were the result of a

minor viral infection. The train was sanitised before continuing and

the other sick passengers were isolated in separate sleeping cars.

BREAKAWAY BARGES JAM ON RAIL BRIDGEOn 27 April, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, emergency

and hazardous materials crews were dealing with two out of

four barges that broke free from a towboat on the Ohio River

and jammed against a rail bridge over a back channel. One was

carrying light crude oil, containing 65% benzene, a highly

fl ammable liquid and known carcinogen. The container of benzene

was not leaking but communities downstream were notifi ed of the

potential danger.

Initially the other two barges were also pressed up against the

bridge but one of them, with a cargo of steel coils, sank. That

caused another barge loaded with coal to move again down river

where it got hung up at a lock.

US ARMY HELPS CLEAR TSUNAMI DAMAGEDuring peak hours, commuter trains on the Senseki line used to

arrive every few minutes at stations along a 48km stretch of north-

east Japan. Train traffi c stopped at 14:46 on 11 March, when the 9.0

Derailment near Klapmuts. Photo: G Hart

Metrorail collision at Rosslyn


MISHAPS & BLUNDERS

Specialist supplier of repair, refurbishing, upgrade and manufacturing services for suburban electric train sets

and mainline coaches.

COACH BUSINESS


GM

51

6_

TR

E P

ress

lin

k

eastern Missouri, alongside the Mississippi River. According to

BNSF spokesman Andy Williams, the train - carrying a variety of

goods, “from particle board to wheat and fl our” - was bound from

St Louis to West Quincy. No injuries were reported. There were

also four tankcars, fortunately empty, and some of these came off

the line.

SIDESWIPED WAGON DERAILSIn a shunting accident in a yard at Seattle, a double-stack

container fl at wagon derailed when it was sideswiped by a passing

train. No other damage was reported in the collision, which took

place at slow speed. The accident caused no delay to freight or

passenger trains on the main line through Seattle.

RED RIVER FLOODS CLOSE LINESLate in April, fl ooding by the Red River forced the Canadian Pacifi c

Railway (CPR) to reroute trains on one Manitoba branch and to

close another, while Canadian National Railway (CN) closed one

secondary line. The Manitoba provincial government built dykes

across two of CPR’s lines on 20 April, to protect the towns of

Emerson and Morris against fl ooding, CPR spokesman Mike

LoVecchio told the press. The two lines connect Winnipeg with

Morden, Manitoba, and with Glenwood, Minnesota. Detours were

in place for the Winnipeg-Glenwood line, resulting in service delays.

DERAILMENT NEAR HANNIBALOn 20 April, about 30 out of 124 wagons derailed in a Burlington

Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train around 3km south of Hannibal in

UK TREE FELLS HIGH-SPEED TRAIN It was something that could happen in the best of families but

there was quite a bit to be learned from this one, the subject of

a recently released report by the UK Rail Accidents Investigation

Branch (RAIB).

At around 14:09 on Saturday 10 July 2010, a high-speed diesel

express from London Paddington to Penzance, travelling at

145km/h, collided with a tree near Lavington. Though (luckily) the

driver was only slightly injured, his cab was extensively damaged

and the train was disabled.

The two-way radio in the cab failed, due either to direct physical

damage or loss of electrical supply when the control circuit

breaker tripped, but it was in any case inaccessible under debris.

The tree, which struck the train at a height of approximately 2.8m

above rail level, penetrated a distance of about 1m through the

left side of the cab. The steel window frame on the left-hand side

was distorted and the glass side window broke and fell out of its

frame. There was also cracking to the glass reinforced plastic

(GRP) cab roof. The severity of the damage to the upper left-hand

portion of the cab was suffi cient to distort the aluminium

windscreen frame and cause the windscreen to become detached

from the GRP structure.

The driver had to push the windscreen away to extricate himself

from the wreckage. He knew that TVSC was the controlling signal

box, but did not have the phone number stored on his cellphone,

which he used to call Westbury 5½ minutes after the train came

to a stand. Confl icting information was given about the location of

the train; this involved numerous conversations between the train

crew, two signalling centres and the control centre in Swindon.

Nobody seemed aware that the identity numbers on nearby signals

would provide the authorities with the precise location.

To ensure that the train could be moved safely, two fi tters were

despatched from Reading (88km), arriving by taxi two hours after

the accident.

It was eventually hauled 14.5km to Westbury by a locomotive

despatched wrong road from that station, arriving complete with

some 200 passengers at 19:03 – very nearly fi ve hours after the

accident. They continued their journeys in another train.

The application of the emergency brake after the accident,

followed by loss of power and contact with debris from the fallen

tree, probably caused all axles on the train to lock and the train

subsequently slid to a stand. This caused severe fl ats on all

wheels along the train, limiting the speed under tow to 16km/h, to

minimise further damage to the train or track.

It had been decided not to disembark the passengers at the

accident scene, on the grounds that the air-conditioning was

still functioning (from the rear loco) and that the buffet was

well stocked.

Photos courtesy RAIB.


MISHAPS & BLUNDERS

industry sources told the Reuters news agency. Both lines of the

double track were affected, though later one was reopened to

traffi c. According to Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) chief

executive offi cer Raymond Chirwa, the accident had no immediate

impact on coal exports as adequate stocks were on hand.

However, the continuing incidence of derailments, particularly in

the Ermelo area, raises concerns about meeting this year’s target

of 65 million tons. An exporter quoted by Reuters said: “So 65

million tonnes is looking rather unlikely and we haven’t even got

to the maintenance period or scheduled pay talks which could

lead to another strike.”

A succession of derailments in recent months cut over three

million tons from exportable coal, exporters were quoted saying.

“South Africa exported 63.43 million tons of coal last year,

boosted by demand from China and India,” Reuters points out,

“but far below the terminal’s expanded capacity of 91 million tons.

Transnet is investing heavily in new and improved infrastructure,

but it will take years before a substantial increase in transported

tonnages is seen. Companies in the coal sector include Anglo

American, Xstrata, Optimum Coal and Exxaro.”

MASSIVE INDIAN RAIL DISRUPTIONAccording to India Today on 27 March, “Political unrest has

virtually stopped the Indian Railways in its tracks. The railways

say 3,611 trains were cancelled and 3,100 more diverted between

April 2010 and March 2011 because of political agitations. The

protests have been widespread - from Rajasthan (where the Gujjars

agitated) and Andhra Pradesh (where supporters are demanding a

separate Telangana state) to Jharkhand and West Bengal (where the

writ of Maoists run), and Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (where the Jats

ISRAELI CRASH INJURES 60Sixty people were injured when two Israel Railways passenger

trains were involved in a side-swiping collision near Netanya.

It is thought that the driver of a train travelling to Tel Aviv ran a

red signal. The other train was approaching from the south. Two

coaches derailed. Emergency services said that the relatively

light injuries were a consequence of the slow speed at which the

trains were travelling, though several carriages were “severely

damaged.”

FLOODS CLOSE US LINESSnow melting on already saturated ground contributed to fl oods

in North Dakota’s Red River Valley which caused the Burlington

Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) to close six lines. Grand Forks,

Minot and Bismarck, some of the state’s biggest cities, were

affected. The fl oodwaters were expected to reach the third-highest

crest on record in the Red River Valley. Some lines were closed to

allow dikes across the track, BNSF said in a message to customers

posted on its website on 14 April. “There may be a few industries

that we may not be able (to) service due to high waters and

reroutes may be established as necessary,” The valley Is an

important producer of spring wheat, durum and sugar beets.

Canadian National (CN) spokesman Warren Chandler said

preparations were being made to close the line from Winnipeg

to Emerson in the Canadian province of Manitoba, in advance of

approaching fl oodwaters.

COAL LINE DERAILMENTA derailment near Ermelo on South Africa’s heavy-haul coal rail

line to Richards Bay put back throughput by some 500,000 tons,

GM

531_AP Presslink

“ You focus on your business, we will focus on your gas supply”


MISHAPS & BLUNDERS

Employer’s Liability Act. The plaintiff is

seeking damages for severe, permanent

and disabling emotional and psychological

injury, mental pain and suffering,

permanent disability, loss of enjoyment of

life, lost wages and fringe benefi ts, medical

expenses, interest and court costs.

100-YEAR-OLD BUILDING LOST AFTER DERAILMENTThe derailment of a number of wagons

in a CSX freight on 28 March in Newton

Falls, Ohio, caused the evacuation of local

residents as a safety measure. A 100-

year-old tower building that formerly

served as a station was damaged beyond

repair and had to be demolished. The CSX

company later issued cheques to people

who were evacuated, to reimburse their

expenses. The cause of the derailment is

unknown.

CANADIAN DERAILMENTOn 26 March, according to the Ottawa

Citizen, “about 25” wagons in a Canadian

National freight train derailed west of

Cobourg, Ontario. Due to badly damaged

tracks, passenger trains were cancelled

between Toronto and both Ottawa

and Montreal until late on 29 March.

Passengers were conveyed by bus.

The derailed vehicles were carrying

aviation fuel, propane and sulphuric acid

containers. One with butane caught fi re,

obstructing access to the others. Residents

within 800 metres of the accident were

evacuated from the area.

SEVERN VALLEY COPPER THEFTIn January, six tonnes of copper were

stolen from the Bridgnorth site of Britain’s

well-known Severn Valley Railway (SVR).

Police described the theft as “audacious”.

The thieves broke in at night and hot-wired

a crane to steal the metal from the boiler

works.

MORE MUDSLIDES IN THE US NORTH-WESTA mudslide hit the Burlington Northern

Santa Fe (BNSF) main-line near White

Rock, just north of the United States

border, at 00:30 on 31 March. It was

hoped to reopen the blocked track to

freight trains later in the day but a safety

moratorium meant no passenger train

movement for 48 hours. It was hoped to

resume Amtrak international service to

and from Canada by 2 April, following

evaluation by offi cials. In the meantime

buses were being used.

SA RAIL COLLISIONS: 3.28 DAILY AVERAGE IN 2009 According to SA Rail Safety Regulator

(RSR) fi gures quoted by the Mail &

Guardian, daily collisions on the country’s

railways averaged 3.28 in 2009. The total

of 1,200 compared with 1,002 in 2008.

DON’T SLEEP ON THE SUBWAY, DARLINGIt wasn’t the subway this time, but a surface

line near Khuma, in South Africa’s North-

west province. According to a Sapa report,

Mama Sekhamane, 26, was “lying across

the tracks” when she was hit by a railway

repair unit on 23 May. “The driver said he

came across two men crossing the line and

hooted to warn them to get out of the way.

A short while later he saw Sekhamane.

MANHATTAN TUNNEL BLUESThe Long Island Railroad (LIRR), the

America’s largest commuter rail system,

runs 447 trains in and out of New York

city’s Penn Station on a typical weekday.

All enter Manhattan through four tunnels

owned by Amtrak.

On 8 May, an Amtrak train derailed inside

one of the tunnels, forcing LIRR to cancel

and delay a number of trains for four

days while the rolling stock was cleared

and extensive track damage repaired. On

typical mornings, 12 of the 98 LIRR trains

normally travelling to Penn Station were

cancelled. Ten were terminated early or

diverted. During the disruptions, LIRR

tickets were accepted on the subway.

An LIRR inspection of the tunnels revealed

that poor drainage may have contributed

to the problem, Metropolitan Transit

Administration (MTA) offi cials say. Now

local politicians, pressing for immediate

remedial measures in the tunnels,

are calling on the MTA to take over

maintenance, or even ownership, of Penn

Station and the tunnels.

are agitating). Demands for statehood and

reservation are becoming intense in some

parts of the country.

TRAFALGAR SQUARE LEAK STOPS TUBE TRAINSAccording to the London Evening Standard,

train service on the Bakerloo underground

line was stopped by water short-circuiting

the third-rail power supply between

Paddington and Elephant & Castle.

Apparently Charing Cross Station was

fl ooded by water leaking from Trafalgar

Square after the pump station for the

fountains broke down. A Transport for

London spokesman said the water had

reached Bakerloo line platforms and

had caused problems with the station

escalators. He said smoke had been seen

coming from a machine room.

CONDUCTOR SUES OVER TRAIN SHOOTINGA conductor is suing CSX Transportation

after an assailant entered the locomotive,

robbed him and shot the driver dead.

Michael T Brand fi led suit against the

company and the Alabama Great Southern

Railroad company on 25 March in New

Orleans. The incident occurred on 20

June 2010. Brand’s train was stopped

for approximately 30 minutes when an

unidentifi ed male climbed aboard and

began fi ring shots. Brand states he dived

to the fl oor and lay motionless. Believing

Brand to be dead, the assailant searched

his pockets and removed his wallet. The

assailant then left the cab. Brand lay

motionless for a few more minutes and

then called for help. While waiting for

emergency responders, Brand discovered

that the driver was dead.

The defendant is accused of failing to

provide Brand with a reasonably safe

place to work, in violation of the Federal


MISHAPS & BLUNDERS

Your track maintenance ePhysical Address12 Laser Park Square34 Zeiss RoadLaser ParkHoneydewSouth Africa

Postal AddressPO Boxt 4431Honeydew2040South Africa

Tel: +27 11 794-2910Fax: +27 11 794-3560Email: [email protected]: www.yalejhb.co.za

quipment and machine specialist

Apart from that though, face facts, the population on the Witwatersrand has been moving relentlessly northwards over a long period, and in density is beginning to overtake that over the so-called apartheid dormitory suburbs in the south.

Take a good look around, there are now extensive townhouse developments where four or more matchbox houses are crammed into 1,500m2, housing at least 12 people where previously maybe two people enjoyed the benefi t of spacious and gracious living.

What use is it living in Ruimsig and having to travel south to Krugersdorp to take a train to Johannesburg and then change to the Gautrain in order to get to Sandton?

– James: [email protected].

THE IMPRESSIVE CLASS 43Dear Editor A photo [of the new class 43] shows a loco that looks about the same height as the 6E1 electric next to it. Given its massive weight (126,000kg) I would guess its dimensions will fi ll the loading gauge and that it will be a good 20 metres long. These diesel locos are probably at the limit of what can be fi tted into the South African loading gauge and they have impressive vital statistics - their starting tractive force is 179% of that of the class 37 diesel. It is also 87% of the starting tractive force of the big 3,000kW AC diesels which run on the Canadian Pacifi c, Union Pacifi c and BNSF here in North America and on the iron ore lines in NW Australia. It is almost as much as the quoted tractive effort of the big North American steam locos, such as the UP 4-8-8-4 “Big Boys”. So, if these new locos work out and can be maintained, along with the impressive new class 15E and 19E electrics, Transnet will be running some fi rst-class motive power.”

– Stuart Grossert, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada .

LESSONS FROM HISTORYPosted on sar-L:

From what I can see a whole trick is being missed, namely because political powers are being true to form, they did/do not read, follow or acknowledge history. Now I’m sure there are folk better informed than me, but after the Boer War and right up to World War II, there was a need for employment on a massive scale, and a need for nation-building. After the Boer War, the economic depression of the late 1920s left people destitute and this all needed leadership from the top.

The government of the day, instead of just paying everyone on a “dole type” system - which would have just produced an

THREE COUNTRIES – THREE GAUGESDear EditorThe May issue of NewAfrican has a feature on Togo, which describes plans for a regional hub for freight transport. The railway system, which is fairly moribund, would be rehabilitated. Togo is a long and very thin country (rather like Chile) and freight destinations within a worthwhile radius are likely to cross international borders. Should the railways of neighbouring countries ever meet, there are likely to be diffi culties with gauge.

From East to West: * Nigeria – 1,067mm* Benin – 1,000mm* Togo – 1,000mm* Ghana – 1,067mm (which might change wholly or in

part to 1,435mm).

Complete conversion to a single gauge is a daunting “bridge too far”. If the three gauges could be reduced to two, that would be worthwhile progress. But as discussed in previous issues of RA, triple-gauge sleepers to suit all three gauges mentioned are quite

practical.

– Shall Ford (Australia).

CHANGE GAUGE – LOSE CONTINUITYDear EditorHow will Uganda and Kenya ensure that their new network will not go “to the dogs”?

And I do not understand why they are regauging their network to 1,435mm and not 1,067. From Angola/Congo/Namibia/South Africa up to Tanzania is an existing network in 1,067mm and there is the same gauge in Sudan. If the new East African network were to be in Cape gauge, there would be a 40,000km network without a break in gauge, not from the Cape to Cairo admittedly, but from the Cape to Sudan.

– Jean Engwunduka, by e-mail.

GAUTRAIN EXTENSIONS EAST & WEST[Gautrain runs in an easterly direction to OR Tambo airport. Gauteng transport MEC Ismail Vadi is quoted saying this line could be extended further east and then to the west, “as there is currently no commuter rail option that runs from east to west.”]

Dear EditorOf course there has been an east-west commuter service for years. I personally used it for many years from 1948 onwards, however I would hesitate to use it these days thanks to the run-down nature of the entire system.

BURKINA FASO NIGERIAKano

JosKaduna

Niamey

Kaya

Dori

Tambao

Banfora

OugadougouDosso

Malanville

Parakou

Blitta Ilorin

Makurdi

Lagos

Port HarcourtAccra

LomeCotonou

Gulf of Guinea

Takoradi

Abidjan

NIGERMALI

COTE D’IVOIRE GHANA

BENIN

TOGO

Km

400200 300100

N

Transnet Freight Rail’s new class 43 diesel-electric. Photo: R Ouwenkamp.

END OF THE LINE


CORRESP NDENCE

Specialists in refurbishing, upgrading and comprehensive testing of traction motors and auxiliary electric

motors. All traction motors are expertly qualified and load-tested to full capacity on back-to-back motor

test facilities.

ROTATING MACHINE BUSINESS


GM

51

9_

TR

E P

ress

lin

k

going to be provided. It is noted that the body that regulates the oil industry in Texas, USA, is the Texas Railroad Commission, which refl ects the history of oil in this state.

– Shall Ford (Australia).

[See below – Editor]

underclass (just look at the UK today) - used the railways and harbours to create jobs. This gave people a purpose, self-worth, pride and for the country a work ethic. People were given status and aspiration and were not all dressed up with nowhere to go.

If we look at South Africa today, much the same could be said again. The railways could be used once more to build a nation, to integrate people, in a productive and proactive way. Whole towns could be revived, people given status, a workforce that is trained. The railway could be used to spread the wealth of South Africa and more than likely increase it. Just putting money in big capital projects has never really helped the masses. People could be housed, welfare and education provided; and most of all, given meaningful employment.

It takes strong leadership - this way of thinking - and it’s not always popular. If you go back to Union, the leadership of the day had to work hard to get the country to go with them. The country went forward, infrastructure was built, and the country still benefi ts from it today.

I come from three generations of railwaymen in South Africa. My grandfather worked hard and long, up and down the line, but because of the railway he provided for his family. My uncle had an outstanding career on the railway, providing and educating his family. I joined they railway and used it as a stepping stone into the great wide world. The railway is one of the few places where true social engineering can take place.

If only the powers that be would just stop a minute, look back, take the dark glasses off, and then look forward.

– Terry Rowe.

THAT 15E ORDERDear EditorI have some doubts about the total quantity of new class 15Es now on order. I understood that the very fi rst order for 32 units was augmented by another 12 and UCW/Mitsui were expecting a further 18. I think that the “new” order for 32 comprises the old second order for 12; then the last 18 has now become 20, giving 32. The total number of units will thus be 32+32 = 64, as I see it and not 76. At about R50 million a shot, somebody had better have their fi gures correct!

– Jean Dulez.

RAIL IS THE WAYDear EditorA letter titled “Rail is the way” in African Business magazine, April 2011, talks about carrying newly discovered oil in East Africa by rail. Oil pipelines cannot carry any freight other than oil, whereas rail can carry lots of different freight. And passengers!

Rail haulage of oil makes a lot of sense, especially if the quantities of oil are “small” and the rail infrastructure exists already or is

PROFOUND TEXAN NAME CHANGETexas’s Sunset Advisory Commission, which advises on possible

bureaucratic redundancies, has recommended to the state

legislature that the Texas Railroad Commission’s name be changed

to the Texas Oil & Gas Commission. The advisory commission

says this change will recognise that the railroad commission no

longer has anything to do with railroads – it regulates the oil and

gas industries in Texas.

(from the San Antonio Express-News)

Transnet Freight Rail’s new class 15E electric loco on the 50kV AC ore line.

Photo: Aidan McCarthy.

Correspondence continued from page 54


END OF THE LINE

uth Africa’s new Consumer Protection Act requires servSouth ervice

viders to furnish customers with receipts setting out compleprovid plete,

comprehensive details of all transactions.

Consumer protection’s the name of the game -Keeping service providers in line.

With luck it’ll stop them from doing us downp g pg

And ripping us off all the time.g

There’s more than one side to this coin, of course.As always, a downside exists.

Full contractural detail on passenger ticketsyy

Is a very tall order to list.gg

Then, full compensation is required to be madeFor every conceivable thing -

For a train that is late or, worse still, does not run,y gy g

There’s an onerous penalty sting.

The effect of these laws on the heritage sceneAre perturbing. It seems that they may

g

Put continued existence in signifi cant doubt -g y yg y y

Or worse, at the end of the day.gg

Thus if TFR’s signalling gums up the worksAnd our steam train can’t get very far,

g g gg g g

The Act can compel us to shell out such cashg yg

As to bankrupt us - fi nished and klaar.

- LRD

CONSUMER PROTECTIONCO ON

“The tickets have to be so big, there’s going to be no room left inside

for passengers.”

New Tubular Modular Track installation at Kwa Mashu Station, Durban.

The first of its kind in South Africa on 1070mm platform to rail height.

World Class track meeting World Class Safety Standards.

Step offnot down.

Tel: +27 12 803 4201 Fax: +27 12 803 5192 Email: [email protected] www.tubulartrack.co.za

Specialists in refurbishment, repair and upgrade of wagons and major supplier of new wagons to the heavy haul

coal and iron-ore fleets with tare ratios as high as 5:1, as well as wagons for cement, car carriers, intermodal

and fuel tankers.

WAGON BUSINESS


GM

515

_T

RE

Pre

ssli

nk

Railways Africa Issue 3 2011

Documents

Transcript of Railways Africa Issue 3 2011