Carrying commuters in comfort
The first train will be unveiled in Derby during July.
08 Jul 2008 | David Anglin
SOUTH AFRICA: Bombardier's proven Electrostar EMU family is being customised for South Africa, giving a powerful demonstration of modern high-quality rail services.
David Anglin, Director, Business Development, Mainline & Metros, Bombardier
Rail is too often regarded as the mode of last resort for South African commuters today. On the current 1 067 mm gauge network, the rolling stock is ageing and costly to maintain, and journeys can be long and unreliable. The last new commuter trains supplied to the Gauteng region were ?ordered in the late 1980s, and the average age of the fleet is in excess of 30 years.
As a result, the roads are severely congested. The Johannesburg - Tshwane highway is now carrying 157 000 vehicles a day, making it one of the busiest roads in the country. Transport problems are estimated to cost South Africa R300m a year in direct costs, lost production and the effects of accidents.
Gautrain Rapid Rail Link is set to change the public image of rail travel, by demonstrating that modern trains can be safe, reliable, fast and comfortable. The rolling stock for Gautrain is based on the successful Electrostar series from the UK. Taking a ?proven high-performance standard-gauge EMU from the UK and customising it for use in South Africa will set a benchmark for transport in general. Speeds of up to 160 km/h will offer substantial reductions in journey times compared with road, with the planned Tshwane - Johannesburg journey time of 42 min by rail comparing favourably with the typical 2 h by car today.
Current estimates suggest that approximately 20% of Johannesburg commuters will switch from road to rail, with Gautrain expecting to carry more than 100 000 passengers a day.
Two configurations
As part of the Bombela consortium responsible for the build-operate-transfer concession, Bombardier is supplying the core electrical and mechanical systems for Gautrain, including 96 EMU vehicles. These are based on the Electrostar design, of which more than 1 600 vehicles are now in service in the UK. Electrostar has established a good reliability record, achieving a mean distance between failures of up to 80 000 km - the best performance for any modern EMU design in the UK three years running.
Balancing the requirements of airline passengers with the need to accommodate large numbers of commuters has been a key consideration in the design and interior layout of the vehicles. The modularity of the Electrostar family facilitates a variety of configurations, even within the relatively small fleet size.
Of the 24 four-car trainsets, 19 are to be fitted out for commuter services on the Johannesburg - Tshwane route and five will be used on the Sandton - Airport service. The main difference is that two out of the four cars on the Airport sets are designated as airport cars, with 2+2 seating rather than the 2+3 of the commuter configuration. Additional luggage storage areas will be fitted in the saloons of these cars, together with glazed luggage racks.
Each EMU will have 321 seats, and a total capacity of approximately 533 passengers including standees. There is provision for wheelchairs and space for luggage. Each car will have two sets of electrically-operated sliding plug doors per side and two roof mounted heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units.
The trains will have a streamlined front end, designed to present a dramatic and efficient image which will enhance the prestige of the new railway.
The propulsion system will be enhanced in comparison to the UK trains, with 50% more powered axles to cope with high potential passenger loads, a relatively harsh operational environment and 4% gradients. The lightweight aluminium bodies and regenerative braking will help to ensure an energy-efficient train.
Security is also a prime consideration, and the trains will be equipped with Bombardier's Sekurflo networking with two CCTV cameras per car connected to an on-board DVD recorder.
Local assembly
One of the primary objectives of Gautrain is to stimulate economic growth and job creation in the Gauteng region, and a key factor in the choice of the Electrostar concept was its 'design for localisation'. Bombardier's Derby plant in the UK is responsible for manufacturing the trains, but the bolted aluminium construction will enable final assembly to be carried out in South Africa. Bombardier has previous experience in transferring technology and train-building expertise to new markets. This was one factor contributing to its selection for this project.
The first 15 cars, which include all the airport link vehicles, will be completed at Derby. The bodyshells for the remainder will be built in the UK and shipped to South Africa for final assembly by Union Carriage & Wagon. Due to the relatively small order size, Bombardier will supply the bogies, traction equipment and other under floor items from Europe.
Maintenance activities
Bombardier will also be responsible for vehicle maintenance under a 15-year contract. The reliable vehicles and modular design are expected to bring significantly reduced maintenance requirements compared to existing trains. Bombardier will maintain the EMUs at a 6 850 m2 facility under construction north of Marlboro (p364). As with many of its other maintenance partnerships, Bombardier will provide training and guidance for locally-recruited staff.
Revitalised commuter rail
It is expected that the long-term success of the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link will easily demonstrate the benefits of expanded and upgraded rail transport facilities in South Africa. As the need for reliable public transport grows increasingly urgent, Bombardier is already delivering on the promise of improved performance.
Related News: First Gautrain EMU unveiled - 09-07-08 10:30
Gautrain from dream to reality - 08-07-08 07:59
Orbita shows the way to optimised maintenance - 02-07-07 11:56
Bombela wins Gautrain race - 01-08-05 12:00
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Gautrain from dream to reality
08 Jul 2008 | Jack van der Merwe
South Africa The Gautrain rapid rail link between Johannesburg and Tshwane is taking shape, with the first section on course to enter revenue service before the two cities host the 2010 football World Cup.
Jack van der MerweChief Executive Officer, Gautrain
The landscape of the Gauteng region is undergoing unprecedented change. Tower cranes soar above construction sites, tunnelling is underway deep below Johannesburg, gigantic viaducts are emerging from the ground, and soon an array of new high-rise buildings will transform the skyline of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane.
For most South Africans, Gautrain has become synonymous with pride. It is inspiring that South Africa can assemble the expertise necessary to build a project of this magnitude and complexity, using global best practice and technology to build a much-needed public transport system in a province frustrated by traffic gridlock.
Serving the economic heartland of South Africa, Gautrain is more than just a train. It is one of several strategically-integrated projects being driven forward by the Gauteng Provincial Government to help structure economic development and meet the anticipated transport demand resulting from forecast economic and population growth.
The socio-economic growth statistics are simply staggering. Over the 20 years from 2005 to 2025, forecasts suggest that an additional 2 million jobs will be created in Gauteng, provided that the province's economy continues to grow at an average rate of 4·5% to 5% a year. By 2015 the local population is expected to increase from 9·6 million today to around 14·6 million people. We are already seeing traffic volumes on the local roads increasing by almost 7% year on year.
Public-private partnership
First proposed by the Gauteng government in 2000, the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link is an 80 km standard-gauge Y-shaped network linking Johannesburg, Tshwane and O R Tambo International Airport. It will be operated by a fleet of 24 four-car EMUs running at a maximum speed of 160 km/h.
The line is being built under a public-private partnership, and prequalification for the 15-year build-operate-transfer concession was launched in February 2002. By May of that year two consortia had been shortlisted to submit final tenders, but it was not until July 2005 that Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa was able to announce the preferred bidder (RG 8.05 p463). Financial close was achieved the following year, allowing construction to get underway in September 2006.
Under the PPP agreement, the Gauteng provincial government appointed the Bombela Concession Co as main contractor, responsible for implementation of the entire project, including design, construction, operation and maintenance. The company is owned 50% by international partners Bombardier and Bouygues, and 50% by local companies Murray & Roberts and Strategic Partners Group - the black economic empowerment partner.
The concessionaire has appointed Bombela TKC as turnkey contractor responsible for managing the delivery of the civil infrastructure as well as the electrical and mechanical equipment. TKC is a specialist integration management company, and has in turn awarded two subcontracts to a Civils Joint Venture (Bombela CJV) and an Electro-Mechanical Joint Venture (Bombela E&M).
A separate contract covers the 15-year operations and maintenance concession period, which is the responsibility of the Operations & Management Joint Venture (Bombela O&M), in which RATP Développement is the main shareholder.
Shortly after financial close, the provincial government and Bombela jointly appointed Arup as Independent Certifier for the project. Arup is responsible for monitoring more than 1 000 milestones set out in the concession agreement, and ensuring that Bombela is paid when the relevant milestones are reached. The Seriti Consortium was jointly appointed as Independent Socio-Economic Monitor to verify and monitor compliance with socio-economic development targets, to ensure that the project achieves its aims in terms of black economic empowerment, small, medium and micro-enterprise development, skills development and job creation.
We recognise that skills development underlies sustainable job creation, so Gautrain has helped to put in place training programmes to develop much-needed skills in the construction and civil engineering fields. On-the-job skills transfer and coaching support the National Skills Development Strategy and the Accelerated & Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa. Trainees also undertake courses at local further education institutions.
Construction progress
The Gautrain network will be operated as two routes. Journey time on the South-North line between Johannesburg and Tshwane will be 42 min, whilst the West-East route linking Sandton with the Airport will take less than 15 min.
The South-North line starts at Park station in central Johannesburg and runs north in tunnel for 15 km to Marlboro, serving underground stations at Rosebank and Sandton. From Marlboro the route runs east of Buccleuch to Midrand, where the station will be conveniently located next to Grand Central Airport. From here the route largely parallels the old Pretoria - Johannesburg road through Glen Austin and Randjiesfontein to a station serving the Centurion business district. The next 11 km runs down the Snake Valley and east of Salvokop into Tshwane. Pretoria station will be situated adjacent to the existing Sarcc premises, giving convenient interchange with local rail services. The line will then run east for 6 km, largely following the existing suburban railway to the terminus at Hatfield.
West-East services will start from Sandton and share the same tracks as far as Marlboro, where they will diverge to parallel an existing rail alignment through Rhodesfield, where a station will serve the Kempton Park area. From here the line will pass over the R21/R24 road interchange into the O R Tambo International Airport to reach an elevated station in the main terminal complex. At Sandton, trains to the airport will use a dedicated platform clearly marked to facilitate interchange to and from the South-North line.
'Gautrain is more than just a train. This visionary project is a key driver of economic and urban development in Gauteng'
Jack van der Merwe, Chief Executive Officer, Gautrain
The full network includes 15 km in tunnel, 10·5 km on viaduct and around 50 km of surface earthworks where the trains will travel at grade.
Around 75% of the tunnelling is being done using drill and blast techniques, with the remainder being bored. An earth-pressure balance Tunnel Boring Machine named 'Imbokodo' has started work to excavate approximately 3 km of tunnel from Shaft E2 at Rosebank towards Park Station. International best practice has been adopted for erection of the viaduct decks, using two launching girders able to lift pre-cast segments and assemble the spans. One of these is currently erecting Viaduct 3 crossing Allandale Road in Midrand, whilst the second, known as 'Matata', is building Viaduct 13 over Centenary Way in Modderfontein on the airport branch.
A combination of ballasted and ballastless trackforms is to be used on the network, with slab track deployed for the sections in tunnel. Head-hardened rail is being used with a combination of the Sonneville system and Pandrol clips laid on concrete sleepers. In tunnel, the Sonneville system encases the track in a rubber mould to reduce noise and vibration transmission to the trackform. Corus is supplying 20 000 tonnes of rail from its Hayange facility in France under a €16·5m contract.
Rigid overhead catenary fed at 25 kV 50 Hz is being erected in the tunnels, with conventional catenary used elsewhere. Trains will be equipped with on-board ATP and controlled by lineside signals.
The line will serve 10 stations, spaced between 5 km and 8 km apart. Of these, Johannesburg, Rosebank and Sandton will be underground, O R Tambo International Airport, Centurion and Pretoria will be elevated, and the other four will be at ground level. The architecturally-striking structures are being designed to blend into the surrounding area. More than 9 000 park-and-ride spaces are being provided, including a three-level underground car park at Sandton with 1 400 bays. The precast concrete yard at Midrand is the largest such facility in the southern hemisphere, and will in future be the site of the maintenance depot for Gautrain's feeder bus services.
The network is now expected to open in two phases, with the first due to be completed in just 45 months, in time for the 2010 football World Cup tournament. This stage includes the line from the Airport to Sandton, plus a short section northwards from Marlboro to the depot and Operations Control Centre at Midrand. The second phase is expected to be completed during the first half of 2011. This will complete the South-North main line, running from Sandton into Johannesburg and from Marlboro to Tshwane.
Frequent services and feeder buses
When the network is fully operational, the services will use 20 of the 24 Electrostar EMUs now being built by Bombardier at Derby. Two vehicles in each of the units allocated to the West-East line will be adapted for airline passengers, with fewer but more luxurious seats in 2+2 rather than 2+3 arrangement, and special baggage storage areas near the doors. Bombardier is to build 15 cars to the airport specification, comprising a mixture of driving and intermediate cars.
On-board public address and passenger information display systems will direct passengers to the appropriate part of the train on the east-west route, with the dedicated airport cars clearly branded as such. The two airport vehicles will only be accessible to passengers boarding at Sandton station - at Rhodesfield and Marlboro, selective door-opening equipment will only allow access to the two commuter cars.
Trains will initially run as four-car sets, able to carry more than 100 000 passengers per day in each direction. However, there is provision for multiple working to permit eight-car trains, which could increase capacity to 15 000 passengers/h in each direction without modifying the signalling.
Services will operate every 12 min at peak times and every 18 min off-peak during the first three years. For the remainder of the concession period, peak-hour services will be stepped up to run at 10 min intervals.
High levels of security will be provided on trains and stations, using automatic ticket gates, more than 650 CCTV cameras and very visible policing. Bombela E&M has been contracted to supply automated fare collection systems and CCTV equipment; passengers will use smart cards rather than magnetic stripe ticketing.
Supplementary fares will be levied on journeys to O R Tambo airport, although no city-centre check-in desks or checked luggage transfer is being provided initially.
To enable convenient door-to-door commuting, the concessionaire will also supply and operate a fleet of buses to work dedicated feeder and distribution services between Gautrain stations and the surrounding suburbs up to a radius of about 10 km. The buses will be fully accessible, with low floors, wide entrances and folding wheelchair ramps. They will operate at the same frequency as the trains, with co-ordinated timetables, and will run from 06.00 to 21.00, Mondays to Fridays. An integrated ticketing system will cover both train and bus services.
We have identified 36 indicative feeder bus routes, but to reflect potential changes in development and operational conditions the actual routes will only be finalised shortly before the services commence. Provision has also been built into the contract for changes to the feeder network during the 15-year concession period.
Compatible ticketing systems will facilitate transfers between Gautrain and other public transport such as taxis and Metrorail trains. Easy transfers will also be provided between Gautrain and the recently-announced Bus Rapid Transit networks in both Johannesburg and Tshwane.
Driving urban development
The visionary Gautrain project is a key driver of economic and urban development in Gauteng. The prospect of efficient door-to-door transport in the near future is already driving the rapid development of high-density urban and suburban areas around the future station sites. Urban densification will inevitably change the lifestyle of Gauteng residents, and Gautrain will enable them to work, live and reach entertainment facilities without enduring the frustration of escalating traffic congestion.
By helping to focus this economic development in a clearly-defined corridor, Gautrain is also playing a vital role in countering unplanned urban development, which has threatened to destroy the precious green lungs of Gauteng province. Instead, the ripple effect is rapid urban regeneration across Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekhuruleni.
According to a recent survey released by mortgage risk management company Lightstone Risk Management, the proportion of local property transactions taking place within a 2 km radius of the Gautrain station sites has increased from 3·8% to 6·0% since the project was launched in 2000. This is in contrast to property transactions in the areas between 2 km and 3 km from the stations, which have remained relatively consistent at between 4% and 5% over the same period.
Sustainable job creation will also contribute to Gauteng's booming economy. Projections estimate that Gautrain has created and/or protected more than 29 400 direct, indirect and induced jobs between 2007 and 2008. This figure is expected to increase to about 33 000 during 2008-09.
CAPTIONS: The precast concrete yard where the viaduct sections are being assembled is located next to the future depot site.
An elevated terminus is being built to serve O R Tambo airport, This section will open in 2010 under the first phase of the project, helping to transport visitors to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The drill and blast method is being used for 75% of the tunnelling. The remainder of the 15 km of tunnels will be machine bored.
The tunnel boring machine was named 'Imbokodo' at a ceremony on January 8.
Park station will be situated at the heart of Johannesburg's business district.
An artist's impression of Park station.
Related News: First Gautrain EMU unveiled - 09-07-08 10:30
Carrying commuters in comfort - 08-07-08 07:16
Sidetrack October 2007 - 01-10-07 14:48
Corus wins Gautrain rail contract - 01-10-07 12:35
Bombela wins Gautrain race - 01-08-05 12:00
Gautrain shortlist - 01-06-02 12:00
Links: Gautrain website
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First Gautrain EMU unveiled
09 Jul 2008
SOUTH AFRICA: Premier of Gauteng province Mbhazima Shilowa visited Bombardier's Derby factory in the UK on July 8 to witness the unveiling of the first electric multiple-unit for the Gautrain commuter line.
Dramatic sounds, lighting effects and dancing heralded the roll-out of the completed trainset. Jerome Govender, Chief Executive of Gautrain concessionaire Bombela, said the event marked the transition from the development stage of the Gautrain project to the start of preparations for the launch of services.
Gautrain CEO Jack van der Merwe stressed that the Johannesburg - Tshwane line 'would not be a test bed for untested technology'. Apart from the styling of the nose, the 160 km/h train is essentially the same as the Electrostar family of EMUs used in southeast England, though the Gautrain units have an upgraded traction package to cope with steeper gradients, heavier potential loads and hotter climatic conditions.
Bombardier Transportation President André Navarri said the 'well-proven' Electrostar platform has been 'transformed for South Africa into a sleek product that will be the envy of the region'. Viewing the first completed train, van der Merwe joked that the launch was 'a sad day for Derby'; he didn't know when the factory would 'see a train as beautiful as this again!'
Most of the trains will have 321 seats in a 2+3 layout, however five sets will each have two cars with 2+2 seating for use by airport passengers. The adoption of a design produced for tight UK clearances leaves a narrow aisle, but legroom between the Compin seats is generous. A passenger information system is fitted, along with air-conditioning and two CCTV cameras per car. There are no toilets.
Technology transfer was an integral part of the train order. For many years South Africa has relied on refurbishing existing trains rather than acquiring new build, and the opportunity is being taken to develop local skills. 'This is the first time in many years we have imported rail technology', said van der Merwe.
The first 15 cars are being built in Derby, and will be shipped completed via Grimsby, Antwerpen and Durban. The remaining 81 vehicles will be supplied as kits of parts, packed into large wooden crates for assembly at Union Carriage & Wagon's plant in Nigel in a process likened to the assembly of flat-packed furniture. The use of aluminium body components and hook bolts is particularly suited to this method of assembly, according to Bombardier, and a number of South African personnel have been training at Derby to develop their skills ready for the start of local assembly work next month. Car ends will be supplied complete.
Gautrain is an important element in plans for the development of Gauteng, which Shilowa said is 'fast developing into a global city region', with 'dynamic new urban development' designed to be linked to public transport. He estimates that Gautrain will directly create 6 900 local jobs, and indirectly create 37 000.
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Shilowa said that the journey which had brought the Gautrain project this far 'was not always an easy one, but it is one I would do again'. Other speakers alluded to past difficulties, but President of RATP Développement Jean-Marc Janaillac said they were now looking beyond this, and 'real co-operation is taking place'. The subsidiary of the Paris transport operator will be responsible for Gautrain operations, and according to Janaillac RATP is 'determined not to compromise our operating standards'. He also announced that Bombela will shortly begin the procurement of 125 buses for rail feeder services.
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The first phase of Gautrain is scheduled to open for the 2010 football World Cup. Shilowa declared that the first train 'will arrive on time, load the passengers on time, and leave on time.'
bron: http://www.railwaygazette.com/news_view ... eiled.html
Map of current Saudi Railways Organisation network.
