Pretoria - The Passenger Railway Agency of SA (Prasa) is making significant headway in recovering the Pretoria-Pienaarspoort corridor, and predicts it will be operational by the end of October.
Prasa said commuters may expect to finally again save money travelling, as trains return to full service after infrastructure, theft and vandalism halted services in 2020.
Technicians and rail experts are working on the corridor and restoring dysfunctional stations like the Eerste Fabrieke station in Mamelodi.
To circumvent copper theft, the new lines are made of plated copper, which has a much lower value than the traditional copper used in the past.
The corridor covers Koedoespoort, Silverton, Eersterust, Eerste Fabrieke, Mamelodi and Pienaarspoort among other areas.
Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda said: “The work between the Pretoria and Pienaarspoort measures 53km and has 16 train stations. A total of 70% overhead traction work is complete, at a cost of R206 million. The substation repair work stands at 90% complete, costing R93m.
“Some of the substations that were badly vandalised, such as the Koedoespoort substation, boast new technology, increased power of its traction transformer, meaning more trains can be powered on the line. The technical team also has reduced the copper content at the substations and substituted copper where possible with aluminium.”
She said the cost for electrical projects only stood at R300m. At least 200 job opportunities were created.
Limited services with the blue electrical motor units were expected to resume by the end of the next month, with 12 stations. Eight stations were operational and four were to be refurbished in time for the service resumption.
Makanda said in May Prasa temporarily closed three lines in Gauteng for major rehabilitation work of the rail infrastructure and stations.
This is Naledi, Pretoria-Pienaarspoort which is 90% complete, and Leralla, in Johannesburg, which will stop at Elandsfontein and is 40% complete.
The rail infrastructure has a budget of R2.7 billion, from the Department of Transport headed by Minister Fikile Mbalula, that will go towards fixing multiple stations and corridors.
This will include the Pretoria-Kaalfontein corridor that will connect Pretoria and Johannesburg.
“This corridor recovery is crucial for the people in Gauteng because it will connect Pretoria to Johannesburg, which is what the people have been asking for,“ Makanda said.
“The Pretoria to Kaalfontein corridor will resume on October 30. The total cost for electrical projects only stands at R268m. Local labour employed stands at 72 people.
“This will cover areas such as Centurion, Irene, Oakmore, Olifantsfontein and Kaalfontein.”
Pretoria News