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9 July 2008

The Premier of Gauteng, Mbhazima Shilowa, yesterday received the new set of Gautrain rail cars at an unveiling and hand-over ceremony in United Kingdom. These are part of the initial rail cars to be built outside South Africa. The Gautrain system will have 24 train sets, each consisting of four cars, which is equivalent to 96 rail cars designed to run at an operational speed of 160 kilometres per hour. Each four-car commuter train set can comfortably carry up to 321 seated passengers.

To increase capacity after the initial period, an increasing number of train sets will be operated as eight-car train sets. Supported by a dedicated fleet of 125 buses, Gautrain will be able to carry more than 100 000 passengers per day in each direction between Johannesburg and Tshwane.

A total of 96 cars are to be produced for the Gautrain system but only the first 15 will be fully built in the UK. The first 15 rail cars, plus the body shells for the complete fleet, will be manufactured at Bombardier Transportation's facility in Derby. The body shells and some of the major components for the remaining 81 rail cars will be shipped to Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) in Nigel for final assembly. Teams from UCW, who are presently at Derby being trained in the assembly of the Gautrain rail cars, will constitute the core of the assembly teams when local production commences.

As train maintenance requirements and equipment are highly specialised, dedicated technicians will be recruited locally and specially trained by Bombardier to maintain Gautrain according to the original equipment manufacturer's specifications. Bombardier's commitment to skills transfer also includes the local recruitment and training of drivers, as Gautrain's driver compartments and control systems will have more advanced features than other trains presently running in South Africa.

Bombardier is an international company that holds a 17% shareholder in the Bombela Concession Company that won the tender to design, build, operate and maintain the Gautrain project through a 20 year concession agreement with the Gauteng Provincial Government, based on the Public Private Partnership concept. Bombardier's global expertise encompasses eight private rail projects, of which two were completed for the London underground. Subsidiary company Bombardier Transportation has a construction presence in 21 countries.

Issued by: Department of Transport and Roads, Gauteng Provincial Government
9 July 2008
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.gpg.gov.za/)