DM1111 Railways Africa Issue 5

ISSUE 5 // 2014
Developments
in heavy haul
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RAILWAYS AFRICA / COMMENT
Comment
When we dont look after things, they fall to pieces. Weve
The locals in Kenya were agitating recently, following the
found this out the hard way in Africa, notably where railways
discovery that Chinese workers were pouring in to help build
are concerned. To date, our fairy godmothers in China have
the new line from Mombasa. As a matter of fact, the Tanzam
been around to pick up what we have dropped along the way.
route to Dar es Salaam was constructed largely using Chinese

labour. It may not be a coincidence but it is certainly a fact - by
Chinas first serious foray into African rail was the impressive
the time problems started, the Chinese were gone.
Tazara line. It worked well in the beginning but wasnt looked

after. During the past three decades, it has fallen on hard
Unlike the colonialists of old, China doesnt take over and run
times, all too often.
countries and it doesnt run or maintain their railways. Once

the builders depart, disrepair can set in all too easily.
In every instance, China has eventually pitched in to help,

sending in locomotives, rolling stock or money. Their patience
If China continues revamping railways in Africa, and filling
has been remarkable, because those operating the line do
missing links, the continent is going to have a first class
not seem to get the message: if you let things collapse, they
network. However, while the present regime in Beijing is
dont run.
sympathetic to Africas problems and generous to a degree,

future administrations might be less enthusiastic about
Today, China is involved in serious railway business in a
righting the results of neglect. It would be a huge pity if the
number of African countries. In many cases, obviously, its
beneficiaries fail tomorrow - to maintain what has been
mutually advantageous, and people with useful resources to
provided today.
trade, like oil, iron ore and coal, probably enjoy priority in the
queue.
Theres a lesson here you cant miss. No matter who is

in charge, no matter who is responsible for a railways
Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda are all benefitting
maintenance, if it isnt looked after, its going to fail.
from Chinese rail money and expertise. The railways of these

All were once reliable, showpiece systems. Political historians
concede they were well-maintained, explaining that colonial
governments needed to move minerals efficiently to Europe.
disintegrate, once the colonialists left.
EDITOR
Rollo Dickson
DESIGN & LAYOUT
Dean McTavish
Sedibelo Phetoe
countries had several common denominators in their history.
This doesnt explain why each of the railways was allowed to
PUBLISHER
Barbara Sheat
BARBARA SHEAT
Publisher / Railways Africa
WEBSITE
Dean McTavish
ADVERTISING
Andrew Lanham
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Ophelia Naidoo
CONTRIBUTORS
John Batwell
Andrew Lanham
Bruno Martin
Jacque Wepener
Geoff Cooke
Pierre de Wet
Nathan Berelowitz
Dieter Fiedel
ISSN 1029 - 2756
Orenstein & Koppel locomotive no 12691 of 1936 vintage - formerly at SANRASM in Krugersdorp - was steamtested by Sandstone Heritages Lukas Nel in Bloemfontein, November 2014. Photo: Sandstone
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Issue 5 // 2014 Railways Africa
Contents
Cover Story
Developments in heavy haul
6
Features
Zimbabwes derailed railway
15
Bright idea from ERB
23
Innovative end-of-track solution
24
Mishaps
26
20
Africa Update
32
This railway is 98 years old
12
Chinese labour protest
12
Eastern line open soon
12
SA Rail News
24
BBQ Award for CEO Gama
19
Transport unions re-named after merger
20
12
Mishaps
Passing trains sandwich truck at crossing
26
Derailed Russian train in water
26
End of the Line

Toward the end of the day
Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014
28
Heavy Haul
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN SA HEAVY HAUL
The iron ore line remains a major revenue earner for Transnet.
It is an interesting time for heavy haul in South Africa. The capacity of

both existing lines is being increased, and the conventional railway
from the Waterberg is being upgraded to heavy haul standards - as
is that from Hotazel to Ngqura.
There has been some discussion about applying heavy haultechniques to certain South African general freight lines, by
increasing axle loads and raising train speeds. And then, South
Africa has formed its own heavy haul association.
Local heavy haul association launch

The recent launch of the South African Heavy Haul Association
(SAHHA) evidenced significant local interest in the concept. Transnet
Freight Rail (TFR), Transnet Engineering (TE), the South African
Institution of Civil Engineering (Railways and Harbours Division),
the South African Society of Railway Engineers, the University of
Pretoria (Chair in Railway Engineering) and the University of the
Witwatersrand joined forces to found this new organisation.
The aim of the new body is to pursue excellence in heavy haul
railway engineering, technology, operations and maintenance in
South Africa, TFR executive manager and SAHHA chairman Brian
Monakali explains.
It will do this by furthering knowledge in this field by organising
regional conferences, events, workshops, networking opportunities

and other similar initiatives.
South Africa is a member of the well-established International
Heavy Haul Association (IHHA). IHHA, a worldwide nongovernmental body, is dedicated to the improvement of heavy haul
railway operation, maintenance and technology. The establishment
of the South African heavy haul forum will ensure that the technical
knowledge and case studies shared at IHHA level are disseminated
locally. In the same way, technical advancements originating from
South Africa will be made known internationally.
Monakali announced that South Africa is likely to host the
International Heavy Haul Conference in 2019. In view of this, the
2018 IHHA board meeting is to be held in South Africa. Technical
workshops will be held at the same time.
Speaking at the SAHHA welcoming banquet, TE general manager,
strategy and marketing Thoba Majoka said: Through this conference
Transnet is working towards regional economic development in line
with the governments National Development Plan to eliminate
poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. The board meeting is
intended to demonstrate the readiness of South Africa to host the
IHHA Conference in 2019.
Heavy haul
More iron ore
Increased coal volumes through Richards Bay
As far as the iron ore heavy haul line is concerned, the Khumani
and Kolomela mines, which started exporting ore in 2008 and 2012
respectively, have stretched the capacity of the existing facility.
With emerging and junior miners now starting to produce ore, the
need to increase throughput has become urgent. Accordingly the
capacity of the 853km Sishen-Saldanha line is to be increased from
its current 62 million tons per annum (mtpa) to 72mtpa by 2019.
At the same time, Transnet emphasises the importance of retaining
the competitiveness of South Africas iron ore export channel.
Transnet has plans to increase the capacity of the existing coal line,
and also to convert the line from the Waterberg to Ermelo to heavy
haul standard. In addition, Transnet Freight Rail CE Siyabonga
Gama states that a new line is to be constructed from Lephalale to
the Mmamabula coalfields in Botswana in the foreseeable future.
Currently 38 trains a week, each 3.8km in length, carry ore

to Saldanha. Some 50% longer than their predecessors, these
lengthy consists have been phased in since July 2008, when
Radio Distributed Power (RDP) control systems were fitted to the
locomotives 50kV AC class 9E electrics and class 34 dieselelectrics. RDP technology is also being fitted to the new class 15E
locomotives which are phasing out the 9E and 34 fleet.
The upgrade of the Sishen line to 72mtpa will require additional
infrastructure investment. At present, the port of Saldanha can
handle 58mtpa and will need more equipment, most notably a third
tippler.
A Transnet spokesman has explained that while the capacity study
has not yet been completed, indications are that the preferred
option to increase tonnage would be to run an increased number of
trains, to be achieved through improved efficiencies and increased
rolling stock.
The Ermelo to Richards Bay line will have its capacity increased
beyond the 81mtpa it hopes to carry by 2015. It is TFRs intention, he
says, to take the capacity of the line to 97mtpa. During the remainder
of the Market Demand Strategy (MDS) period, it is expected that
R45.5 billion will be allocated to expansion and sustaining capital
for the coal line. The expansion involves upgrading yards, lines and
electrical equipment and additional wagons have been ordered to
serve this line.
A constraint on the coal line for many years, the single-track
Overvaal Tunnel is to be doubled by 2018, according to Gama.
The Swazi link

When the R17 billion Swazi link from Lothair to Sidvokodvo
becomes operational, the capacity of the coal line could be as high
as 110mtpa, Gama asserts. The aim, he explains, is to create a stopgap so that TFR can move some of the general freight that currently
runs on the coal line on to the Swazi link. The latter will be dedicated
to general freight but if Transnet experiences derailments or other
incidents on the coal line, the Swazi link will become an alternative
route for export coal. It is envisaged that it would be possible to run
150-wagon trains on this route. The opening of the link will open up
12 new train slots a day on the coal line.
An excellent turnout of delegates at the inaugural SAHHA conference.
Heavy haul
Waterberg coal for the future
The plan for the Waterberg line, which currently carries two million
tons per annum, has been divided into five stages, according to
an Exxaro presentation. In the first, it was planned to use headend traction to run one 100-wagon train daily and to extend the
Matlabas loop to accommodate the longer consists.
In Phase 2, three 100-wagon trains will run daily, raising the
capacity of the line to 6.3mtpa.
In Phases 3 to 5, following the provision of a loop to accommodate
200-wagon trains at Boshoek, the line will be converted to full
heavy haul operation. This would see 200-wagon trains running
under distributed power, increasing in number from three to six
until in 2018, the line will carrying 24mtpa.
Currently, a feasibility study is being conducted for a new route for
a heavy haul line from Ermelo to Lephalale that would bypass Ogies
and Pyramid.
Manganese Expansion to 16mtpa

Transnet received approval in May 2014 for an investment of
R26.6 billion to support a 16mtpa expansion of manganese export
capacity from the Northern Cape through a new bulk terminal in the
Port of Ngqura by February 2019.
TFR executive manager and SAHHA chairman Brian Monakali.
Specifically, the rail scope of the programme will include the

upgrade and expansion of the 1,100 kilometer rail network between
the Northern Cape and Coega and the provision of new dual voltage
Tunnel 14 at the end of the Mfolozi viaduct on the coal line
heavy haul
locomotives as well as new wagons. The port scope includes the
provision and equipping of a new, modern bulk minerals export
terminal in the Port of Ngqura as well as the commissioning of two
existing berths, C100 and C101.
The rail programme has been divided into two phases, with phase 1
involving the partial doubling of the rail section between Kimberley
and De Aar as well the extension of the Rosmead crossing loop.
Execution planning of the rail phase 2 infrastructure upgrade and
the port construction programmes is under way.
The rail operations will see the introduction of the longest general
freight train, namely a 20 ton per axle, 200 wagon, distributed
power train. The heavy haul operating principles adopted for the
new system were made possible by various new rail technologies,

such as radio distributed power that was deployed successfully
on the heavy haul iron ore export line. The recently commissioned
dual voltage AC/DC electric locomotives overcome the network
constraint where the 343 km section from Hotazel and Kimberley
is on 3kV DC and the remaining 760 km from Kimberley to Ngqura
on the more modern 25kV AC network.
The project aims to sustainably strengthen South Africas position
as the leading exporter of high-grade manganese ore, and will,
through the construction programme, stimulate job creation in
South Africa by delivering an expected 18,500 direct and 14,000
indirect job opportunities.
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) CEO Siyabonga Gama and Nu-Skotland Farmers Association president Jaap Naude sign an MoU in respect of a new more
environmentally friendly alternative route from Lothair to the Swazi border. This followed lengthy negotiations between the farmers in the Lothair region
and TFR.
The intention to go ahead with the Swazi link was formalised by an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the respective
governments on 2 August 2012. Shortly after this, an inter-rail MoU was signed between TFR and Swaziland Railways on 22 November 2012.
The key objectives of this project, which is at feasibility stage, are the promotion of inter-regionalism and linking the regions ports to the hinterland
through rail.
As part of the Transnet Market Demand Strategy, the intention is to create a general freight corridor through the Eastern Seaboard to strengthen supply
chains. The 146km Swazi link will carry some 43 million tons of freight which otherwise would have clogged the coal line. The opening of this costeffective option will open up 12 train slots and reduce the costs of logistics in the long run, Gama explains.
10
AFRICA UPDATE
AFRICA UPDATE
TUG-OF-WAR, CHESS & MORE AT THE SARSCO GAMES
General manager in Transnet Freight Rails (TFR) chief executives office Cleopatra Shiceka was
recently able to announce that the Southern African Railway Association (Sarsco) Games, inactive
for some years, had been revived.
This year the South African Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) hosted the games on 7 and 8 November
at the University of Pretoria Sports centre. Participants from TFR, the RSR, Botswana Railways
and Swazi Rail vied for top honours in soccer, netball, volleyball, athletics, morabaraba, tennis,
tug- of- war and chess. RSR chairman Thembelihle Msibi spoke at the farewell dinner and prizegiving ceremony on 8 November.
ALSTOM IN AFRICA
The volume of Alstoms business with the Middle East and Africa
is growing steadily. Revenue here now makes up about a fifth of
the groups global income. Customers for the newly-built plant in
Nigeria are said to represent twelve countries in Africa and orders
for rolling stock and signalling have been received from Algeria,
Tunisia and Egypt. Company officials are quoted saying that
Alstom would like to become involved in the rail sectors of both
Mozambique and Angola. The aim eventually is to have a presence
in every country on the continent.
ANGOLA
ALGERIA
BOTSWANA
METRO FOR ORAN

Oran, the second city in Algeria after the capital Algiers, is to get a
metro. It is expected that tenders for the first phase will be invited
early in 2015. This will comprise the construction of a depot and
a line from Hai Essabah to Bouakeul. The complete 19km route
envisaged is to have 20 stations including Bouakeul, the Great
Market, Palais des Sports, the main railway station (including
interchange with Orans existing 18km light rail line), Wilaya, Hai
Essabah, the Olympic stadium and the university. There is to be
a branch from Wilaya to the city centre. It is hoped to have trains
running by 2020. In due course, a second metro line is on the cards,
as well as a second light rail route (Orans first LRT opened in 2013).
Zenza
Luanda
ANGOLA
Camacupa
Lobito
Caaia
Benguela
Kuito
Huambo
Cubal
Lubango
Namibe
Dongo
Chiange
Angolas southern Cunene province governor Antnio Didalelwa

recently confirmed that a branch of Caminhos de ferro de
Moamedes (CFM) is to be extended in the medium term, to
Onjdiva and Namacunde in Cunene Province, immediately south
of which it will link with the railways of Namibia at Oshikango.
New construction of over 300km will be involved. According to
Didalelwa, the route is identified in the provincial development plan
for Cunene, with an estimated price tag of $US5.4 billion.
WALVIS BAY DRY PORT FOR BOTSWANA RAILWAYS
A dry port covering some 36,200m2 at Walvis Bay in Namibia has

been inaugurated by Botswana Railways at a cost of $US6 million.
Services to be offered include cartage, container handling, stacking,
a break-bulk terminal, a general purpose warehouse and an emptycontainer park. The facility will assist Botswana in moving its cargo
through the Namibian Ports Authority and will help increase the
volumes carried on the [Namibia-Zambia] corridor and boost trade
relations within the Southern African Development Community.
DRC
Malanje
Dondo
ATLANTIC
ANGOLA-NAMIBIA LINK
Luau
Luena
Dilolo
Jimbe
To
Chingola
Menongue
Chamutete
(Cassinga)
Km
300
ZAMBIA
Oshikango
Ondangwa
NAMIBIA
Tsumeb
BOTSWANA
Grindrod RL30 diesel-electric under construction at the Pretoria works a 3 000hp winner. Photo: John Batwell.
11
AFRICA UPDATE
ETHIOPIA
KENYA
THIS RAILWAY IS 98 YEARS OLD
CHINESE LABOUR PROTEST
An article by Girma Feyissa in Addis Fortune, published in Addis

Ababa, recalls that Ethiopias railway to Djibouti is two years from
celebrating its centenary. She was a teenager when she first rode
on the metre-gauge line, during the time it was still steam-operated.
A small card about one inch and a half square served as her
ticket. The imposing station in Addis Ababa looked like those in
Europe and was known (as in France) as Le Gare. The third class
coaches were fitted with perforated steel benches. Children could
be hidden under benches to travel free. Passengers on her first
train ride included members of the Kagnew Battalion, on their way
to the port at Djibouti where they were to sail for Korea to serve in
the United Nations Security Council Mission.
Low-interest Chinese loans are enabling African countries to push

ahead with railway construction, but not every community is happy
with the way things are turning out. There have been protests in
Kenya even some of the highway-blocking, burning tyre variety
about the large numbers of Chinese employed in constructing
the new standard gauge line from Mombasa to Nairobi. A figure
of 30,000 for the total workforce has been mentioned. In midNovember it was announced that the Chinese component in this
is to be restricted to 2,500. However, one August 2014 press story
spoke of 5,000 Chinese workers already on their way.
MALI
CHINESE COMPANIES
RAILWAYS
TO
DEVELOP
MALI
More clarity has emerged concerning the intended

development of railways in Mali with Chinese help. Two
separate projects are envisaged. One involves upgrading
the existing metre-gauge line from Dakar in Sngal to
Bamako in Mali. The other is to be an entirely new standard
gauge line into Mali from the port of Conakry in Guinea. A
figure of $US8 billion has been mentioned in this case, for
a route length of about 920km. China Railway Engineering
Corporation is the likely contractor. Meanwhile China
Railway Construction Corporation is to rehabilitate the
existing 1,230km railway from Dakar for $US1.5 billion.
The main objectives are to exploit and move iron ore and
bauxite from mining sites some 200km west of Bamako.
The station at Addis Ababa. Photo: Dietmar Fiedel
At Awash, about midway between Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa,

which served as a refreshment stop, a train travelling to the
coast would wait for one coming the other way. Dire Dawa was
reached after dark at about 8pm in the evening. Feyissa hopes
the current reconstruction of the 750km line to standard gauge
will be completed as promised in 2015 in time for the centenary
celebrations.
BIG SIGNALLING CONTRACT

Bombardier Transportation is to provide signalling for Ethiopias
new 400km Awash-Weldia line. Turkish construction company Yapi
Merkezi, which is undertaking the design and construction of the
project, awarded the contract - worth approximately $US45 million.
Bombardier is to install its Interflo 250 system, based on the
European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). Bombardiers
advanced rail control installations in Africa include Gautrain and
the main-lines into Durban. Zambia is to install Bombardier systems
between Livingstone and Chingola and Morocco is a customer for
its Casablanca to Tangiers line. Bombardier is currently providing
Algeria with its first ERTMS and advanced interlocking technology.
EGYPT
NEW TRAINSETS FOR EGYPTIAN RAILWAYS
Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD) Philip ter Woort explained to the Daily News in Cairo that
a loan for the Egyptian National Railways amounting to $US159
million is to finance the acquisition of six new trainsets. This is
in terms of a new supply and maintenance structure, with the
supplier of the trains remaining responsible for maintenance over a
minimum period. The locomotives and trains financed by EBRD are
intended for use between Cairo and Alexandria, where capacity is
strained and passenger services are currently overcrowded.
12
NIGERIA
ABUJA-KADUNA TRAINS BY DECEMBER
The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Transport recently restated its
commitment to finish construction of the new standard gauge
railway from the capital Abuja to Kaduna before the end of 2014,
but it will not be possible to run trains until two locomotives ordered
late in 2014 become available. Nothing has been said about other
rolling stock.
EASTERN LINE OPEN SOON

In the course of a recent tour of inspection from Port Harcourt
by Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) chairman Alhaji Bamanga
Tukur, managing director Adesiyi Sijuwade was quoted saying all
hands are on deck to ensure that train services from Port Harcourt
to Makurdi (480km) will be running by December. Port Harcourt
mass transit commuter trains would run daily in due course from
Diobu to Elelewon, Trans-Amadi and Imo River. Eventually he said
services would be extended to Maiduguri, when the insurgency
stops. Railway district manager Donatus Ogbodo reported that
a first batch of eight passenger coaches has been restored to
serviceable condition.

Rehabilitation of Nigerias 1,124km western line from Lagos to Kano was

completed in December 2012. All these lines use 1,067mm gauge.
NIGERIAN STANDARD GAUGE STUDIES

Nigerias Federal Executive Council approved expenditure of N1.3
billion (about $US8 million) some time ago for standard gauge
railway feasibility studies covering some 4,430km.
AFRICA Update
Africa
UPDATE
NIAMEY
Dosso
The routes envisaged as listed in the press are:

Kano-Dai-Jimbia (354km);
Ilela-Sokoto-Jega-Kontagora (408km);
Aba-Ikot Ekpene- Itu-Uyo-Uduopkani-Calabar (340km);
Kano-Nguru-Geshua-Damaturu-Maiduguri-Gamburu Ngala
(707km);
Calabar- Ikom-Obudu-Ogoja-Katsina Ala-Wukari-Jalingo-YolaMaiduguri (1,669km); and
Port Harcourt-Aba- Umuahia- Enugu-Lafia- Jos- Bauchi- BiuMaiduguri (550km).
The work entails an environmental impact assessment and the
identifying of stations, workshops and other base infrastructure
along the routes, including engineering design, the bill of
engineering measurement and the tender document for the award
of construction contracts in due course.
disembarked at Nakonde, they are required to board a second train

for the Zambian leg of the journey, departing on Wednesdays and
Saturdays. Though extremely precise times are shown in the new
timetable (eg 13:37, 22:49), timekeeping along the length of the line
is poor, not infrequently due to derailments. Generous allowance is
made for changing trains at Nakonde, but if the arriving train is on
schedule, though travellers face a wait as long as seven hours.
Kapiri Mposhi
Nakonde
16:00
08:41
Tues
Wed
?
09:48
Fri
Sat
Nakonde
Dar es
Salaam
Dar es
Salaam
Nakonde
13:15
Wed
16:46
Sat
15:23
Thur
22:49
Sun
10:10
12:45
Tue
Wed
10:30
16:16
Fri
Sat
Nakonde
Kapiri Mposhi
18:00
10:39
Wed
Thur
18:37
13:37
Sat
Sun
UGANDA
PRESIDENTIAL LAUNCH FOR EAST AFRICAN STANDERD
GAUGE
At a recent function in the Ugandan capital Kampala, construction
of the new standard gauge line from Malaba was officially launched
by the presidents of Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan. The
occasion coincided with the seventh summit of the heads of state
of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects. Ugandan President
Museveni said that there will be much better transport and cheaper
electricity. Rwandan President Kagame urged everyone involved
to keep up the momentum to enable the process of regional
integration. The new line is expected to reduce Mombasa to
Kampala goods journey times to two days, by enabling speeds of
120km/h. It is hoped to have the line to Kampala operational by
2018.
UGANDAN RAIL BUILDING STALEMATE
TAZARA
The president and various Ugandan government ministers and

officials have seemingly tied themselves in knots over their
extensive proposed railway building schemes. Memoranda of
Understanding (MoUs) were apparently signed with three different
Chinese construction firms at different times by different people,
one of which has already landed in court. There are disputes over
the building of two new 1,435mm gauge railways. One is to run from
the Kenya border through Uganda into Rwanda with a connection
to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The other is
planned through Gulu into South Sudan.
TAZARAS JOINT OWNERSHIP RUNS INTO TROUBLE

The Chinese-built and financed Uhuru railway from Zambia to
Dar es Salaam is owned jointly by the governments of Zambia and
Tanzania. There have been problems since the line was opened in
1976, largely to do with finance, while rolling stock and infrastructure
maintenance have remained a perpetual headache. Now however
operational difficulties have brought matters to a head. Each
country is now running its own passenger trains separately.
PASSENGER TRAINS U-TURN AT BORDER

There are no longer through-passenger trains between Kapiri
Mposhi in Zambia and Dar es Salaam on the coast of Tanzania.
Trains from either terminal now turn round at Nakonde, the border
between the two countries. Within Tanzania, trains depart from
Dar es Salaam on Tuesdays and Fridays. After passengers have
Haggai Matsiko, writing in The Independent (published in Kampala)

comments: The latest wave of investigations mean that the railway
project whose deadline is March 2018 could delay for several more
years as funders like the World Bank, African Development Bank
and even the Exim Bank [of China] will hesitate to associate with
a project clothed in controversy. Sources inside the oil sector
said they urgently need this infrastructure to transport more than
800,000 metric tonnes of equipment that they will need for oil
production in Uganda.
ZAMBIA
ZAMBIAN INTER-MINE RLY TO BE UPGRADED
Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) says about $US50 million would be
needed to revamp the rail network which links the mines in the
13
AFRICA UPDATE
BULAWAYO-BEITBRIDGE TRAIN SUSPENDED
During infrastructure upgrading between Esigodini and Mbalabala
on the Bulawayo-Beitbridge line recently, passenger train service
from Bulawayo was suspended for approximately six weeks to
accommodate the work.
NRZ EMPLOYEES DEMONSTRATE

Employees of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) staged
protests recently in Bulawayo, Gweru and Mutare. They said
this was the beginning of a wave of demonstrations around the
country to draw attention to their unpaid wages in the last ten
months. The police in Harare reportedly tore up placards and
confiscated banners.
NRZ FAILS TO LURE INVESTORS
copperbelt. Reconstruction of the 1.6km inter-mine line between

the Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) Nkana plant in Kitwe and the
underground quarry in Mufulira was expected to begin before the
end of 2014 at an estimated cost of $4 million. According to ZRL
acting general manager Fred Kaoma, the rehabilitated line will allow
Mopani to haul at least 18,000 tonnes of copper concentrates and
15,000 tonnes of cathodes per month.
NRZ 1609 (class DE6) at Bulawayo. Transnet class 36 behind.

Photo: Trevor Staats
LIVINGSTONE-CHINGOLA EXPRESS
Endeavours by the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) to secure

investors to help revive its flagging operations have not been
conspicuously successful to date. Permanent secretary in the
ministry of transport and infrastructural development Munesu
Munodawafa, appearing before the parliamentary public accounts
committee together with NRZ management , explained the difficult
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
circumstances. Freight volumes carried by the railway, he pointed
out, fell from 9.6 million tonnes in 2000 to 3.71 million tonnes in
Luau
Kolwezi
Dilolo
Lubumbashi
2013. The break-even point is about 5 million tonnes. Potential
Proposed
investors looking for profits are not impressed by a company
North-Western
Railway
ANGOLA
Chingola
Ndola
with this sort of performance. The railway has been studied by
Kitwe
Luanshya
Mchinji
Chipata
a number of companies, particularly from the Eastern bloc, but
LILONGWE
Kapiri Mposhi
the major challenge that is there and why we have not moved is
Kabwe
the aspect of the level of business because obviously any investor
ZAMBIA
would want a return, Munodawafa said.More than $US1 billion
MOZAMBIQUE
Mulobezi
LUSAKA
is needed to completely overhaul NRZ infrastructure. The railway
Kafue
Cabora Bassa
Mazabuka
Tete myriad challenges that have resulted in the parastatal
is facing
Senanga
Monze
Kariba
Dam
accruing
arrears of at least $US52 million in statutory obligations,
Choma
including
an equivalent of nine months pay to employees.
ZIMBABWE
Lake
MALAWI
An express passenger train service which last ran some twenty

years ago has been reintroduced between Livingstone and Chingola.
Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) reportedly spent $US14 million on
30 new coaches acquired from South Africa. Business, economy
and standard class facilities are provided on the train.
Kazungula
IA
NAMIB
CAPRIVI
STRIP
BOTSWANA
Kariba
HARARE
Livingstone
Marondera

NRZ is not the only state institution short of funds, the Herald (published in
Hwange
Okavango
Delta
Kwekwe
Gweru
Harare) observed in a report printed adjacent to the railway story. Inmates in

Mutare
Odzi
Zimbabwes Prison and Correctional Services facilities are forced to stay naked
to Beira
owing to inadequate supply of uniforms.
ZIMBABWE
NRZ MAKES $10.8 MILLION OUT OF SCRAP
The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), desperately short of
funds to maintain infrastructure and rolling stock, has managed to
raise $US10.8 million through selling 30,000 tons of scrap metal.
Acting general manager Lewis Mukwada reported this recently to
the countrys parliamentary portfolio committee on transport and
infrastructure to illustrate the parastatals dire need of funding.
Emphasising this was a short-term, stop-gap measure in an effort
to remain afloat, he confirmed that $55 million is owed to NRZ
employees in arrear wages.
14
National Railways of Zimbabwe class 15 Garratt crossing a

GM-built class DE11A unit on the Victoria Falls line. Photo: Geoff Cooke.
Zimbabwe Railway
ZIMBABWES DERAILED RAILWAY

Report by John Batwell
Early in July, a number of tourists from overseas were injured and
one foreign visitor subsequently died after a tram - capable of
carrying 30 tourists - was hit from behind by a National Railways of
Zimbabwe (NRZ) diesel-hauled freight train at Victoria Falls station.
The tram had just started on a late-afternoon visit to the bridge.
The injured were rushed to local health facilities, two being
relocated to South Africa. The incident had an obviously negative
impact on the countrys tourism industry, the Victoria Falls being an
important drawcard.
A NRZ class DE10A locomotive on a fuel train at Victoria Falls station these locos are over thirty years old. Photo: D. Ives
During the last week-end in June, two NRZ passenger trains derailed
along the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo line, fortunately with no fatalities.
The first incident occurred at Igusi and the second near Gwayi River
the following day. On 23 August, eight saloons on the overnight
Bulawayo-Harare train derailed at Heany Junction, 33km into its
journey, injuring 22 passengers.
The Railway Association of Enginemen (RAE), a union representing
the countrys train drivers, warns that the rail network has become
a death trap - dangerous for both train staff and passengers
due to frequent derailments. Many more derailments occur than
are reported in the media, despite speed limits under 40km/h in
sections between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. RAE vice-president
Juniel Manyere says the dilapidated rail infrastructure is a stumbling
block to the countrys economic revival and urges the government
to act decisively through the necessary rehabilitation.
Newly-appointed NRZ board chairman Alvord Mabena, formerly a
general manager of the system, has even suggested suspension of
all passenger train operations, saying it is risky to travel by train.
Infrastructure ruined through vandalism includes the loss of colourlight signalling. Loco crews rely on cellphones for communication,
according to recent media reports. The 307km electrified railway
between Dabuka and Harare reverted to diesel operation some
years ago as the overhead catenary had been stolen.
What investors need

Investors require the revival of rail infrastructure - pivotal to the
countrys economic turnaround programme - for the efficient
movement of goods. Experts view privatisation as the only way
the NRZ can be revitalised, with the government facing a myriad

of challenges related to liquidity constraints. In early July 2014,
when officials tendered oral evidence to the parliamentary portfolio
committee on transport, it emerged that $10 billion is urgently
needed for recapitalisation and to offset $144 million owed to
service providers and employees. Acting general manager Lewis
Mukwada told the committee that dilapidated infrastructure,
undercapitalisation and competition from road transport had
devastated the company.
Passenger rolling stock is in dire need of replacement on the NRZ.
Mukwada said NRZ was operating at a loss of about $4 million

per month, with the companys wage bill consuming 69% of total
revenue. He said the 6,000-strong workforce is owed $36 million
in salary arrears, which is being settled in 50% tranches. Mukwada
said cash is desperately needed to refurbish wagons and related
infrastructure. The system is currently moving a mere 297,000
tonnes a month. In the short term, $400 million is needed for about
three years to kick-start normal operations. The committee heard
that NRZ is owed millions of dollars by other parastatals such
as the Grain Marketing Board, Zimbabwe Power Company and
Ziscosteel.
No dividend from BBR

NRZ is not benefiting from its 15% stake in the Beitbridge-Bulawayo
Railway (BBR) which has paid no dividend since 2006 and expects
to break even at the end of the current year. The acting GM said
government had stopped availing funding to NRZ, exacerbating the
situation. He called on Parliament to ensure that the 1997 Railway
Amendment Act - which sought to transfer the responsibility to
maintain the rail infrastructure to government - was revived. NRZ
requires $US50 million to relay the economically-crucial line from
Bulawayo to the Zambian border.
DBSA loan
NRZ reportedly operating at less than 55% capacity is currently
negotiating with the Development Bank of South Africa for a
substantial loan to help finance recapitalisation. A number of
considerations that complicate finalisation are being studied.
Strikes
Protracted employees strike action this year did not bode well for
15
Zimbabwe Railway
Grindrod locomotives, such as the RL30SCC-3 type, are operational on the Beitbridge-Bulawayo concessioned railway. Photo: S. Jesser
any kind of investor interest. During the first week-end of August,

employees turned out to demonstrate in the countrys principal
centres over the issue of outstanding salaries. It was stated at
mid-year that NRZ had raised just short of $11 million selling scrap
metal as a stop-gap measure - part of its efforts to remain afloat.
NRZ was moving volumes of 3.7 million tonnes per annum instead
of five million tonnes needed to break even.
BBR operation
Operation of the 317km build, operate and transfer (BOT)
Beitbridge-Bulawayo Railway (BBR) was taken over recently by
South African integrated logistics service provider Grindrod, which
has acquired an 86% stake in the line through its subsidiary New
Limpopo Project Investments (NPLI). To date, it has put in $2 million
towards refurbishment of diesel locomotives in Bulawayo. Other
NLPI shareholders include South African companies Nedbank, Old
Tourist operators still continue to support the countrys tourism with trains often hauled by Garratt steam locomotives.
16
Zimbabwe railway
Grindrod is keen to participate. Olivier noted
that Grindrod plans to invest in Mozambique
and Zimbabwe as well as Zambia, the
continents second-largest producer of copper.
The latest indications from Grindrod come at
a time when calls are being made by various
stakeholders for government to take drastic
action in an effort to save Zimbabwes rail
transport system from extinction.
Presidents China visit

During President Robert Mugabes state
visit to the far east in August, Zimbabwe and
China apparently signed no less than nine
solid landmark mega-agreements that are
to provide financial support for the muchneeded economic enablers in critical sectors
that include energy, telecommunications,
agriculture, tourism, roads and railways.
The uninviting interior of an upper class passenger cabin.
GM848 PRESSLINK_VANRAIL
Mutual, Sanlam and New Limpopo Bridge Projects an investment

company controlled by Israeli citizens Mordechai Tager and Zion
Elani. Grindrod Locomotives Division is providing the motive power
to operate export/import traffic between Beitbridge and Victoria
Falls. In late August, Grindrod chief executive Alan Olivier said his
company was more than ready to invest in the southern African
region. We are looking at big projects, very capital-intensive
projects in neighbouring countries, he was quoted saying.
An interesting feature out of an economically

diabolical year has been NRZs Leisure Rail
Marketing division putting together a series of highly successful,
well-patronised vintage steam day-runs out of both Harare and
Bulawayo. Furthermore, the ever-faithful UK-based tour operator,
Geoffs Trains, will return to the country with a miscellany of
overseas steam buffs during 2015. The Bulawayo steam shed staff
and operational crews always rise to the occasion, setting in motion
a replay of yesteryear rail heritage, often despite the most difficult
odds. The long-established South African tour operation, Rovos
Rail, continues to take its luxuriously-appointed trainsets over NRZ
lines to the famous Victoria Falls and beyond, to the East African
coast at Dar es Salaam.
Keeping air FLOWing eFFicientLy
GM848 Vanrail Half pg Ad_RA.indd 1
Tel: +27 (0)12 653 4595
105 Theuns Street, Hennopspark, Centurion, 0157
Fax: +27 (0)12 653 6841
PO Box 51063, Wierda Park, 0149, South Africa
Email: sales@vanrail.co.za
www.vanrail.co.za
2013/09/19 12:39 PM
17
THE CRITICAL LINK

IN THE HEAVY HAUL
WORLD.
Last year, the nearly 3 million freight cars
products
delivered unmatched reliability
and performance across billions of ton-miles
Where else in the world can you nd
a track record like that?
Africa
www.amstedrail.com | +27.87.310.1769 | C/O Gross & Nywerheid Roads Tunney Extension 3, Elandsfontein, Gauteng, South Africa
2014 Amsted Rail Company, Inc.
SA RAIL NEWS
SOUTH AFRICAN
RAIL NEWS
SIX MONTHS TRANSNET REVENUE = R30BN
Transnet is not holding back on its ambitious investment outlay and
the R312 billion Market Demand Strategy (MDS), notwithstanding
the economic downturn. The global price for a ton of iron ore
declined by $US20 over the past 12 months, to the current $82.
Thermal coal realised $80 a ton a year ago; it stands now at $67.
Volumes railed on the coal line to Richards Bay increased 4.3%

to 43.7 million tons during the six-month period. Transnet says
it expects to move 74.2 million tons during the year as a whole,
equivalent to a year-on-year increase of 9%. Iron-ore volumes
targeted at 57.1 million tons over the complete year - rose 3% to
27.9 million tons in the six months to September.
Capital projects were not stinted: R18.7 billion was spent on these.
Despite this nominally gloomy picture, Transnet did not do badly

over the past six months. Overall freight traffic volumes rose 4.4%
to 110.5 million tons. (On the other hand, port container volumes
dropped 4% to 2.3 million TEUs). Revenue went up 6.4% to R30.3
billion, attributed largely to good performance in the container and
automotive sectors (up 14.3%). Net profit (R2.14 billion) was down
25% due to finance and depreciation charges and the cost of
retiring 26 old locomotives added to this.
BBQ AWARD FOR TFR CEO GAMA

From a Transnet Freight Rail Media Release:
Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siyabonga Gama scooped top honours
at the Black Business Quarterly (Awards) BBQ on 31 October 2014.
Following a gruelling adjudication process, Mr Gama scooped the
Public Sector Visionary Award.
Rail Welding
The single use crucible
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.
Thermitrex (Pty) Ltd
Tel:
+27 (0)11 914 2540
Fax:
+27 (0)11 914 2547
Email: clloyd@thermitrex.co.za
Website: www.thermitrex.co.za
CD323_therm_adv.indd 1
PO Box 6070,
Dunswart,
Johannesburg,
Gauteng
South Africa
1508
Issue 5 // 2014 Railways

2007/10/24 Africa
09:52:34 AM 19
SA RAIL NEWS
Siyabonga Gama
R5.1 billion for the 2013/2014 financial year.

The criteria which Gama satisfied are:
Demonstrated commitment to the advancement of excellence

within the public sector.
Furthering the interests of South Africans through innovation,

creativity and integrity.
His proven record of achievement and involvement, leadership,

perseverance and endurance.
Self-evidently inspires and encourages others to strive for

excellence.
Previous Achievements:
National Business Leader of the year in 2008.

BBQ Young Business Leader of the year 2004.
Finalist BBQ Public Sector Visionary Achiever Award 2012.
Transnet Freight Rail Achievements under Mr Gamas leadership:

The Motlekar Holdings BBQ Awards, South Africas most
prestigious and longest running black business awards ceremony,
have for the past 12 years celebrated and recognised champions
of transformation. The Awards encourage and promote sustainable
black business through the recognition of leadership and
achievement.
Gama receives this award as a testament to his astute business
acumen and entrepreneurial spirit. In addition to providing an
environment conducive for black owned and managed businesses
to thrive, he has transformed TFR, a company which used to report
yearly losses averaging R21 million in 1995 to reporting a profit of
TFR was named Best African Rail Operator in both 2011 and
2012 at the annual Africa Rail conference.
The company won a gold award for logistics excellence in

dynamic scheduling optimisation (2012).
International awards for the Blue Train.
TRANSPORT UNIONS RENAMED AFTER MERGER

The 30 October launch of South Africas United National Transport
Union (Untu) followed the significant 2012 merger of two prominent,
mainly rail-related unions - the South African Railway and Harbour
Wheelset for a class 20E dual-voltage electric locomotive under assembly at Transnet Engineerings Koedoespoort plant. A recent photo by John Batwell
20
Workers Union (Sarhwu) and the United Transport and Allied

Trade Union (Utatu). The recent event was effectively a renaming.
According to Untu general-secretary Steve Harris, the combined
body represents the majority of unionised employees in most
Transnet subsidiaries and is the only union at Bombardier (in South
Africa) as well as Bombela [the Gautrain operating company] and
Mega Express [the Gautrain bus system].
MOLEFE DEFENDS TRANSNET LOCO PURCHASES

After 1994, there was a prolonged dry period during which no
new Transnet motive power was acquired until well into the new
century. In general terms, the railway coped with what it had, but
the fleet was ageing, and matters became increasing difficult. It
is never easy catching up with a backlog and though some new
locos came in during the recent past, by 2014 a growing shortfall in
motive power was being felt in several places. This year, 26 existing
locos were withdrawn from service.
In March 2014, orders worth R50 billion were signed for the supply
of 599 new electric and 465 diesel locomotives. However, although
about 100 may enter service during 2015, the rest will not be
arriving until 2016 and later, with the last expected only in 2019.
In consequence of this, 34 second-hand diesel locomotives have
been acquired from Australia and motive power has been leased
locally from Grindrod. Both moves were unprecedented, the action
being explained by Transnet CEO Brian Molefe as a stop-gap
measure.
Union criticism of the large orders placed abroad has been
dismissed by Molefe. He emphasises that some 70 units only will
be manufactured overseas; the rest are to be assembled in South
Africa.
Transnet says it paid between A$180,000 and $230,000 each for
the Australian locos, depending on condition. They are to be based
on Bloemfontein and used on general freight.
GIBELA TRAIN MANUFACTURING FACILITY

Dunnottar, about 11km south of Springs in Gauteng, is the location
chosen for the Gibela consortiums new 600,000m2 rolling stock
manufacturing plant. Construction is to begin in mid-2015.
The facilitys specific purpose is to be the manufacture of multipleunit electric suburban passenger coaches for the Passenger Rail
Agency of South Africa (Prasa). The schedule calls for 62 trainsets
to be completed annually, the total order being 580. Building is
expected to start by July 2016.
Five satellite maintenance depots will provide fault-finding support,
monitoring and control, planning of material requirement, and
reliability engineers in Durban, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng,
Braamfontein and Wolmerton. Repair centres are to be set up in
Durban and Salt River (Cape Town).
EAST LONDON ELECTRIFICATION

It is reported that the only electric working to and from East
London today is the daily passenger train to and from Johannesburg
(still unofficially known as the Amatola). Class 34 diesels handle
freight traffic and diesels also operate the East London suburban
commuter service, formerly electrically worked. The main-line was
electrified at 25kV AC in 1988 as far as Springfontein (472km)
but the remaining 141km to Bloemfontein though planned was
SA RAIL NEWS
FREE STATE ROUND-UP

Recent photos by Jacque Wepener.
Pedestrian traffic at Friedesheim, waiting patiently for loco 34 499 (heading

the return working of the Bothaville pick-up) to clear the crossing as it sets
back from the timber siding.
Important freight on the OFS main-line: a beer wagon
Kroonstad-bound from Wesselsbron and Losdorings, this block load of mealies seen climbing out of Odendaalsrus towards Friedesheim - was having engine
trouble. (Driver to photographer in sign language: I could do with a push from the rear.)
Empties trundling past the station at Welkom behind Grindrods 1762,

returning from the exchange yard with Harmony surface rail and heading
either to old Frieddes 1 or 5 Shaft to load waste rock or reef (ore).
Hungarian-built Ganz electric multiple unit sets ex Wellington, New Zealand,

staged at Welkom awaiting overhaul reportedly for redeployment in
Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
LED SIGnals
Bright Idea from ERB

ERB Technologies latest offering to the rail
signalling industry is literally a bright idea. Its
evoLIGHT replaces less-reliable incandescent
lamps used in conventional signalling applications
and replaces them with dependable, long-lasting,
high-luminance LED (light emitting diode) units.
The primary advantage of the new ERB LED signal
lamp is that it has a much longer lifespan than
the incandescent type. The ERB product is highly
cost-competitive and is locally manufactured in
its entirety at the companys premises in Midrand.
Also, LED lamps generally use less power. The
LLU-A12 light unit has a nominal operating
voltage of 11 Vac and a current consumption at
this voltage of 174mA.
Signalling interlocking system lamps have some
unique requirements. Otherwise one could buy a
bulb from the local hardware store, explains ERB
managing director Andre Sullivan.
Significant advantages of the ERB lamp are the
considerable savings on replacements and on
labour. While the purchase price of an LED light
bulb might be higher, the life-cycle cost is much
lower.
Lowest life-cycle cost
You dont have to be sending people out to

replace burned out lamps nearly so often,
Sullivan points out. Considering that South Africa
has 20,000km of rail network and a great many
signals, this is a pertinent factor.
Another advantage of the LLU-A12 light unit is
that it can be retrofitted easily to existing signal
lamp housings. And the ERB lamp is available
with various bracket options to fit all signal lamp
housings. The product can be ordered pre-fitted
in a housing.
With other products, one has to replace the
complete housing whereas with the ERB product,
the new LED lamp slots straight into the fitting
holding the previous lamp holder, continues
Sullivan. As it slots into a standard housing, it
uses the existing coloured lamp filters. Unlike
other aftermarket signal lamps, which are
produced in red and green, ERB needs only to
produce a white-light model. It cuts down on
possible mis-fittings, says Sullivan.
All the approvals
Before the ERB product could be approved, it had

to meet the RAMS points of reliability, availability, maintainability
and safety. In the development of its product over the past three
years, ERB complied meticulously with RAMS requirements.
In terms of verification and accreditation, it is TVRheinland SIL
4 certified against the Cenelec EN50129:2003 standard. It has a
driver interface to the RT ES 10062 standard and conforms to the
Transnet Freight Rail Environmental Specification CSE-1154-001.
ERB Technologies is in the final stages of obtaining approval from
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and the Passenger Rail Agency of South
Africa (Prasa), the final stages being little more than a formality.
Prasa is currently running a pilot programme using the new lamps on
its network in Durban. With TFR we have completed an application
for a suppliers framework agreement, explains Sullivan.
Left: ERB engineer Clinton Thorne with Andre Sullivan.
Established quality
ERB Technologies has been providing a service and product to the

South African railway signalling industry for 13 years. The company
prides itself that, at all times, it is effective, efficient, competitive
and delivers quality. Its main business is in the manufacturing,
repair and refurbishment of comprehensive railway signalling
systems. It undertakes comprehensive railway signalling projects
and the system integration of various signalling systems.
With the approvals in place, any rail operator in the world will have
no problem using the ERB lamps. Currently, ERB is working with
the Department of Trade and Industry to facilitate entry into the
export market, concludes Sullivan.
23
Thermitrex
Innovative end-of-track solution
Contracts manager for

SIMS Martin Britswith;
Thermitrex sales and
marketing
manager
Leon van der Heever:
and Rawies Lutz
Fahrenhorst.
For over 150 years, buffers on South African dead-end tracks

have comprised simple steel-frame structures contrived from
standard rail, many featuring a sturdy, horizontally-mounted,
timber bumping post. There has been one notable exception
- for many years Pretorias main station boasted truly impressive
hydraulic buffers at the ends of platforms 1-5. Lengthy steel piston
contraptions protruding from substantial housings suggested that
any train overshooting would not only be stopped in its tracks but
determinedly repelled.
safety technology, each unit individually tailored to meet the

specific needs of every type of track and rolling stock, barrier
system and loading technology.
The Rawie buffers at Bridge City are of a special design developed
specifically for this station. Though these have been a first for the
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), it is of interest that
Rawie buffers are in use on the Gautrain system.
Unfortunately, no one seems to have photographed Pretorias

unique buffers, which disappeared during remodelling of the
platforms some five decades ago.
Apart from avoiding damage to the train, the Rawie device itself is
unaffected when a train overshoots its stopping point. All you have
to do is push it back into position, explains Martin Brits, contracts
manager for SIMS, the contractors who carried out the installation.
Today a new series of friction buffer is available in South Africa

from manufacturers A Rawie GmbH & Co KG. At the recent Bridge
City (Durban) station installation, Railways Africa spoke to Rawies
commissioning engineer, Lutz Fahrenhorst.
In South Africa, Rawie is represented by Thermitrex, a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Goldschmidt International Gmbh of the Republic
of Germany and one of the parent companys 22 subsidiaries
worldwide which specialise in rail welding technology.
Railway buffer stops, he points out, are only intended for emergency
use; trains normally pull up without touching them. In fact, colliding
even at low speed with the conventional buffer, a rigid steel affair
with absolutely no give, invariably results in damage.
Thermitrex (Pty) Ltd
The Rawie buffer is mounted on four rails running parallel. The two
extra rails are to prevent the device being wrenched upwards and off
the track. The buffer is anchored to the rails by 22 friction elements,
allowing it to slide though offering considerable resistance. Every
friction element can dissipate energy of 40 kilojoules per meter of
energy, Fahrenhorst explains.
39 David Road, Boksburg East, Gauteng, 1459

Leon van der Heever: Sales and Marketing Manager
Tel. +27 (11) 914-2540 /6
Fax. +27 (11) 914-4627
leon@thermitrex.co.za
There is no intention of trying to deal with a speeding train. Rawies

device, designed for impacts with a maximum speed of 20km/h,
acts as a safety net. Should the driver misjudge his stopping
distance, the objective is to assist in bringing the train to a safe
stop.
Train speed, weight and stopping distance are basic parameters
used by Rawie engineers in designing buffers. In the case of those
at Bridge City, a minimum stopping distance of 16.5 metres applies.
We have been developing, producing and installing buffers for
railway systems for more than 100 years, Fahrenhorst says. The
technology is well proven, with more than 4,000 Rawie buffers
installed worldwide in stations, shunting yards and sidings.
Rawie manufactures dynamic end-of-track buffers and railway
The friction elements provide the necessary sliding resistance.
Hycon
Speeding up electrical disconnections

Recent developments in South Africas rolling stock
arena have dictated the use of AC 220V mains power
connections between certain wagons. Because these
need to be coupled and uncoupled repeatedly, electric
connectors must be sufficiently safe and robust to
withstand the harsh operating and climatic conditions
often encountered on South African rail lines.
Train turnaround times are all-important so coupling
devices need to be quickly and easily disconnected. As
train operating personnel often work under pressure,
inadvertent rough handling can occur. Coupling often
has to be done at night, in less than perfect visibility.
Wherever electrical connections are involved, of
course, safety features are essential to protect staff
from accidental contact with live terminals.
The sturdy decontactorTM supplied by Hycon Marechal
Technology ideally suits repeated railway coupling and
uncoupling, providing high performance and safety to
the user throughout its life.
In place of sliding-fit sockets, spring-loaded, silver nickel butt
terminals with integrated power switches are employed. These
ensure excellent connectivity at all times, being resistant to
corrosion, vibration, and mechanical shock and temperature
variations.
The device has been designed to undergo 10,000 cycles during its
life. This level of reliability is eight times higher than that required
by the EN 60309-1 standard. Voltage spikes are no problem as
current variations eight times greater that the rated capacity for
one minute can be handled.
Metal casings provide mechanical shock resistance up to IK10,
while the unit is able to operate reliably in temperatures from -40C
to +60C; and it is watertight up to IP69k, 100 bars and 80 C.
The Hycon Marechal decontactor is sufficiently safe and robust to cope

with harsh conditions.
In terms of safety, the device will provide a safe connection or

disconnection even under short-circuit conditions. The unit has a
padlock option to prevent uncoupling or access to the socket when
the plug is disconnected. In the event of an emergency, a motors
power supply can be safely disconnected by a trained operator
without having to wait for a qualified electrician. If repairs become
necessary, these can be handled in South Africa.
Hycon Marechal Technology
Tel.: (011) 894-7226/7/8
Fax: (086) 604-1778
e-mail: sales@hyconelec.co.za
25
MISHAPS
Mishap s
One 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.
CONFUSION AT SANDTON STATION ALARM
A blaring hooter that sounded at Gautrains Sandton station on

Friday morning 21 November reportedly sent commuters scurrying.
Apparently it was a false fire alarm (according to Bombelas Errol
Braithwaite) but they didnt know that. Neither did the security
staff, who hurriedly evacuated the station. Bomb scare rumours
abounded. Press stories did not reveal whether the warning also
sounded on the platforms, but if it did, it couldnt have amused
people who had to make their way up some 40 metres to the
surface.
It couldnt have been funny for those involved, but one cant
help imagining a Fawlty Towers fire-drill type scene.
PASSING TRAINS SANDWICH TRUCK AT CROSSING
On 24 November, at a snow-covered crossing between the

Kondratovka and Petropavlovsk stations on Kazakhstans South
Urals Railway, trains passing in opposite directions sandwiched a
large truck which failed to stop. It is thought the vehicle skidded
when its brakes were applied on the icy road careering it into the
path of a freight train on the further of the two tracks.
coaches were damaged. The sequence of events was recorded in

clear detail by a surveillance camera and the spectacular video was
widely published.
TROUBLES IN ROME
Early in November, the first train on Romes new $US3 billion

driverless metro line C failed four stations short of its destination.
The dignitaries were forced to alight and walk to another set which
was hastily arranged. That ran into trouble, too. The doors jammed,
trapping the mayor and others inside. The authorities blamed
software problems following a litany of headaches since the line
was first planned in 1994. Originally it was intended to start running
14 years ago in the year 2000. According to press reports, the
project suffered from bureaucracy, cost overruns and legal
challenges. Ancient archaeological remains came to light during
excavations and delayed work for months.
DERAILMENT LANDS BOEINGS IN RIVER
Nineteen wagons in a westbound freight train derailed on 3 July

about 16km west of Alberton in western Montana. Six flatcars
were carrying Boeing 737 fuselages and three of those landed in
the adjacent Clark Fork River. No one was injured in the accident.
The fuselages, produced by Spirit AeroSystems plant in Wichita,
Kansas, were on their way to Boeings Renton assembly plant in
Washington state which puts together more than two complete
aircraft every day. The train that went off the track was also carrying
fuselage panels, a lower lobe fuselage section for the 777, and a
leading edge flight surface for a 747.
33 OFF AT CASSELTON
On 13 November, 21 wagons in a Burlington Northern Santa Fe

Railway (BNSF) eastbound freight that derailed 3km from Casselton
in North Dakota were hit by a westbound empty oil consist in which
12 tankcars came off the track. BNSF officials suspect that a
broken rail was the most likely cause of the first derailing.
The locomotive clipped the truck on the crossing, spinning it partly

round to face an oncoming passenger train on the other track.
This one hit the truck head-on, hurling debris into the air and
derailing four wagons in the freight consist.
ONE FATALITY, 70 INJURED IN ALGERIA
An Algiers-Thenia electric passenger train derailed on 5 November

near the Hussein-Dey station. A woman died and 70 people were
hurt, according to the Algerie Presse Service. Prime Minister
Abdelmalek Sellal personally attended at the scene of the accident.
No further details were disclosed or information about the likely
cause. Socit Nationale des Transports Ferroviares (SNTF - the
state railway of Algeria) said train operations were restored
gradually, with traffic returning to normal on 6 November. Both the
ministry of transport and SNTF set up committees of enquiry.
DERAILED RUSSIAN TRAIN IN WATER
The 24-year-old truck driver survived the first collision but died
in the second. No train passengers were reported hurt but three
26
The official Russian news agency Tass reported the derailment of

a two-coach passenger train on 3 November, on the shore in the
Sakhalin region between the port towns Kholmsk and Chekhov.
A railway employee died and 17 of the people on the train were
hurt. It was believed that water washed out the ground beneath
the track, causing it to collapse. The incident followed bad weather,
heavy rain and tidal waves.
Mishaps
held up for several hours by official investigations, blocking the only
other crossing giving road access to a residential area bordering
Lake Michigan. According to a local resident interviewed by a
reporter, people frequently drive around the lowered booms.
LOCO DEMOLISHES CROSSING GATE
MASSIVE CAPE TOWN STATION DISRUPTION
Morning peak hour suburban services approaching Cape Towns

main terminal were seriously delayed on Friday 31 October due
to theft of four metres of multi-core signalling cables during the
night. Trains had to be signalled manually into and out of the station
and points operated by hand. Radio reports spoke of commuters
being delayed as much as two hours though there was no official
confirmation of this. Many people jumped down from stranded
trains and walked along the tracks into the station. According to
Metrorails Riana Scott, 150 train movements take place in and out
of the terminal between 05:30 and 09:00 on weekdays
It wasnt the most serious accident of the week but it made

headlines in the village of Lingwood in Norfolk, where the local
paper published graphic photos and many excited comments from
locals. Lingwood crossing is typical of those seen on British railways
for 150 years, though few remain today. The white-painted, hinged
timber gates are normally closed across the track. When a train
approaches, the gatekeeper moves them manually off the rails to
close the road. On 31 October, for reasons yet to be determined, the
gates were not operated for a locomotive running light. It ploughed
into them, hurling large pieces of wood into adjoining gardens.
The townspeople turned out en masse to witness the destruction
and offer advice. Train services on the single line were diverted via
another route, and buses were brought in to serve Lingwood while
the Rail Accidents Investigation Branch (RAIB) had a look at the
scene.
TFR TRAINS COLLIDE IN MOZAMBIQUE
Train services were disrupted for four days until 28 October

following a collision between two Transnet Freight Rail trains at
Tenga, about 50km outside Maputo. Five crew members were
treated in hospital. Caminhos de ferro do Moambique (CFM
the state railway & harbours) southern division executive director
Antonio Bie was quoted by the Maputo daily Noticias saying nine
goods trains run daily over the line to the port, four carrying coal,
four magnetite and one with containers. In addition there are two
well-used daily passenger trains from Ressano Garcia, near the
South African border, to Maputo. The track was badly damaged in
the accident. CFM has set up a commission of inquiry to investigate
the collision which caused heavy additional traffic on the busy
parallel road. It had a serious impact on Maputo harbour, Bie said.
MOSCOW SUBWAY ACCIDENT: 20 DEAD
Three coaches near the front of a Moscow subway train derailed

and jack-knifed on 15 July in a tunnel about 200 metres from the
Slavic Boulevard metro stop. According to the RIA Novosti news
agency, 23 people died and about 160 were injured, many critically.
More than 120 were taken to hospital. A maintenance foreman and
his assistant were subsequently arrested and were to be charged
with responsibility for the accident. It is understood they were in
charge of work on a set of points between the Park Pobedy and
Slavyansky Bulvar stations.
INEBRIATED UK LAWYER KILLED BY TRAIN
A 24-year-old British lawyer who apparently drank too much

at a party in Londons Kensington on 12 April reportedly left his
cousins flat on foot in search of a cellphone signal. He was seen
very early in the morning in the vicinity of Ladbroke Grove tube
station where it seems he stumbled along the platform and onto the
track. A startled train driver saw the man but was unable to stop
before hitting him. At the recent inquest, the coroner found he had
consumed nearly three times the legal drink-drive limit.
Between them, four people had downed four bottles of wine

and half a bottle of whisky.
80-YEAR-OLD FALLS FROM AMTRAK TRAIN
Rosie Madison (80) travelled on Amtrak from New York to visit

her niece, Cynthia Burton, in Dallas, Texas. Shortly before 11:30
when the train was due to arrive, Burton was told by Amtrak that
her aunt was missing from the train. They were looking for her
and would advise further. The next call however was from the
sheriffs department at St Louis. Madison had been found in the
woods with a broken leg, hip, collar bone, femur, a punctured lung,
multiple bruises, lacerations, cuts, and concussion. She had been
there for 12 hours without her medication, food or water. According
to Burton, Amtrak told her windows could not open fully except in
an emergency but seemed uncertain whether her aunt managed to
force open her window or if she fell out of the rear of the train. She
said they offered her a free ride to St Louis.
EGYPTIAN EXPLOSIONS DISRUPT TRAINS

TWO DEAD AFTER DRIVING AROUND BOOMS
Two people died on 8 August when they drove around lowered level
crossing booms in Gary, Indiana, and were hit by a Chicago-Ohio
CSX freight train. A stunned witness, who was behind the car, said
the young woman driver made no attempt to stop. She deliberately
drove around the gate and into the path of the train. She and her
male passenger were killed instantly. Trains on the double line were
On 13 November, 16 people were injured when a bomb exploded

in a Cairo metro train. It appears they were hurt when passengers
panicked and stampeded, trying to leave the coach. Nobody was
reported hurt following the discovery of a second bomb inside a
bag in another train during the peak hour. Two policemen died and
15 people were injured on 5 November when a bomb exploded in a
railway station in the Nile Delta province Minufiya.
Egypt has been hit by a wave of unrest since the military overthrew
Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
27
END OF THE LINE
Toward the end of day

Toward the end of day,
As afternoons hot air eased
And the suns burnt bronze
To twilights rose gave way,
Steams siren call
Began to have her say.
For me this had a pleasant end An evening spent near river bend,
Along the right of way.
This offered an escape from chores,
School uniform and homework bores;
The endless roadside fusses
Of buzzing cars and buses.
And an afternoon radio wailing
Somewhere next door.
And with days bright light fading,
Down at the station
Another world unfolded;
An altogether pleasant situation
Where dusks grey mantle
Settled on the yards.
And came the beacons of the night
As pools of arching light.
By now the anxious heat of day
Had passed with dusks departure.
Then began the secret world
Of night time trains hereafter.
Of smoke and couplings clanging,
Of ring of steel and cough of steam
And long, dark slack a-banging.
Of whistles wailing calls at night
A-bed, filled childrens dreaming.
Then, all the days confusions
Like ghostly wraiths unfolded;
Were thrashed and chased away once more
Like naughty children scolded And up upon the dusky ridge.
Toward the end of town,
There shone a locos hunting light.
The Passenger came round
And banged across the river bridge,
Rods heaving up and down.
It brought upon my beating heart
Pent up anticipation As did its whistle clear for people at the station.
At last it came around that bend,

Its cab light dully glowing And soon enough we heard her pant,
Her string of lights a-slowing.
Hot boiler as she hissed on by,
Hot men from windows leaning The Passenger was back in town,
To give my day real meaning.
And as I headed home once more
For bed and warm cocoa,
I said a silent prayer of thanks
For steams great endless show.
Not knowing then it couldnt stay,
Like sunshine dipped beneath the rim,
Toward the end of day.
Pierre de Wet
CORRESPONDENCE
ANGOLA/DRC HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY
Dear editor
A small point in the article Angola and the DRC: East of Luau,
the original railway crosses the Kasai River, which marks the
DRC border, into Dilolo.
The border is in fact the Luau (or Luano) River (see attached
scan of map), the Kasai (or Cassai) is further to the north.
There is a detailed account of the opening of the Benguela

Railway in the SAR & H Magazine July 1929, pp1075-1084. A
summary provides the following description:
As a result of negotiations between the governments of
Portugal and Belgium, the north east corner of the Congo,
known as the Dililo Boot, bounded in the north by the
River Cassai, was ceded to Angola in exchange for a small
tract of land at Matadi in the north to accommodate the
reconstruction of the Chemin de fer du Congo between
Matadi and Lopoldville [todays Kinshasha]. With adjustment
of the border the River Luau (Luano) was now the boundary
and consequently the Benguela Railway was extended by a
further 62 miles (99.7km) making the total distance 1346km
(835 miles) from Lobito. On 25 August 1928 the last length
of line was laid up to concrete bridge abutment on the River
Luau. The official opening ceremony of the Benguela Railway
took place at Luau on 10 June 1929. A commemorative brass
plaque was fixed to a large granite boulder brought from
Lobito Bay was placed alongside the rails on the concrete
bridge abutment on the Angolan side.
Bruno Martin
28
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ISSUE 5 // 2014

You do not have to be the

RAILWAYS AFRICA / COMMENT

The locals in Kenya were agitating recently, following the

discovery that Chinese workers were pouring in to help build

are concerned. To date, our fairy godmothers in China have

the new line from Mombasa. As a matter of fact, the Tanzam

been around to pick up what we have dropped along the way.

route to Dar es Salaam was constructed largely using Chinese

the time problems started, the Chinese were gone.

Tazara line. It worked well in the beginning but wasnt looked

times, all too often.

countries and it doesnt run or maintain their railways. Once

In every instance, China has eventually pitched in to help,

If China continues revamping railways in Africa, and filling

has been remarkable, because those operating the line do

missing links, the continent is going to have a first class

network. However, while the present regime in Beijing is

sympathetic to Africas problems and generous to a degree,

Today, China is involved in serious railway business in a

righting the results of neglect. It would be a huge pity if the

number of African countries. In many cases, obviously, its

beneficiaries fail tomorrow - to maintain what has been

mutually advantageous, and people with useful resources to

Theres a lesson here you cant miss. No matter who is

Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda are all benefitting

maintenance, if it isnt looked after, its going to fail.

from Chinese rail money and expertise. The railways of these

disintegrate, once the colonialists left.

countries had several common denominators in their history.

This doesnt explain why each of the railways was allowed to

ISSN 1029 - 2756

Rail Link Communications cc

Issue 5 // 2014 Railways Africa

Bright idea from ERB

Innovative end-of-track solution

This railway is 98 years old

Chinese labour protest

Eastern line open soon

BBQ Award for CEO Gama

Transport unions re-named after merger

Derailed Russian train in water

End of the Line

Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN SA HEAVY HAUL

It is an interesting time for heavy haul in South Africa. The capacity of

Local heavy haul association launch

Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014

regional conferences, events, workshops, networking opportunities

Increased coal volumes through Richards Bay

Currently 38 trains a week, each 3.8km in length, carry ore

The Swazi link

An excellent turnout of delegates at the inaugural SAHHA conference.

Issue 5 // 2014 Railways Africa

Manganese Expansion to 16mtpa

TFR executive manager and SAHHA chairman Brian Monakali.

Specifically, the rail scope of the programme will include the

Tunnel 14 at the end of the Mfolozi viaduct on the coal line

Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014

new system were made possible by various new rail technologies,

Railways Africa Issue 5 // 2014

METRO FOR ORAN

Angolas southern Cunene province governor Antnio Didalelwa

WALVIS BAY DRY PORT FOR BOTSWANA RAILWAYS