Gautrain spends R100m on IT

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 14 Dec 2007

Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said R8.3 billion has been spent on the Gautrain rapid rail link to date, with at least R100 million going to IT.

Shilowa gave an update of the R25 billion public-private partnership (PPP) at the naming ceremony for a tunnel boring machine that will excavate part of the route the high-speed train will follow between Rosebank and Park Station, in the Johannesburg CBD.

Construction started in September last year and phase one of the project is scheduled for completion in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Shilowa said the project injected R440 million into the Gauteng economy "so far this year, through the purchase of South African materials and equipment. Small medium and macro enterprises have gained R70 million for providing goods and services required on the projects. Again, these are not mere figures, it is wealth generated in our drive to ensure accelerated economic growth."

The Franco-Canadian Bombela Consortium, which is building the Gautrain, last month awarded the French Thales Group and its local partner, Stimela Infrastructure Management Services, a R100 million contract to provide a "contactless e-ticketing solution" for the rapid rail system.

The contract, now operative, requires Thales to design and deploy a contactless e-ticketing system at all 10 Gautrain stations, including OR Tambo International Airport.

The only other ICT deal awarded to date is a signaling contract to Siemens SA. The value of this has not been disclosed.

Bombela spokeswoman Chantal Ramcharan says further ICT-related contracts will be put out to tender in due course.

Once operational, the Gautrain will run an 83km track between Johannesburg, Pretoria and OR Tambo International Airport, at speeds of up to 160km/h, covering the distance between the two city centres in less than 40 minutes.

The Gautrain Web site says trains will initially run at a "minimum frequency" of six trains per hour, per direction, and it will operate about 18 hours per day. Airport passengers will be able to check-in their luggage at the Sandton station, and the trip between there and the airport will be less than 15 minutes.

The Wikipedia says the train is expected to cut the number of cars on the N1 Ben Schoeman highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria by 20%, and the train`s proponents expect 135 000 passenger trips a day.

Available ticket pricing guidelines set the price for travelling between Johannesburg and Pretoria at between R10 and R25 depending on distance, the Wikipedia adds. The cost of travelling to a station with the Gautrain Bus Link will be between R3 and R7.50, and parking at a station could cost around R6 a day.

According to some estimates, the project could employ as many as 18 000 people over the next 20 years and generate business activities worth up to R3.6 billion per annum.

The PPP involves the Gauteng government`s Blue IQ investment company and the Bombela Consortium. SouthAfrica.info says Bombela includes the Montreal-based Bombardier- the world`s biggest manufacturer of trains - and French civil contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics.

It also includes RATP International, the operator of the metro and commuter railways in Paris; local construction company Murray & Roberts; and Strategic Partners Group (SPG), a black economic empowerment entity headed by Zoli Diliza.