Latest news with #PassengerRailAgencyofSouthAfrica
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
PRASA reveals it's spent R1.3bn so far on getting CT's central line back on track
CAPE TOWN - The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) said it spent R1.3 billion so far to ensure that train services on Cape Town's central line were back on track. It's the busiest train corridor in the Western Cape, transporting more than 600,000 passengers daily during peak times. The central line was brought to its knees by illegal occupation of railway tracks and infrastructure vandalism just before the COVID-19 pandemic. ALSO READ: • Creecy hails reopening of Chris Hani rail corridor on CT's central line as a critical milestone • After Chris Hani rail corridor reopened, Hill-Lewis keen to see full train service resume in CT • Crucial link in Cape Town's central rail network reopens PRASA officials said they'd made inroads in recovering almost all train services, except for three train stations. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, together with PRASA officials, went on a train ride on Thursday from the Chris Hani train station in Khayelitsha to the Cape Town CBD. This was part of the re-launch of train services to this leg of the city's central line. PRASA CEO Hishaam Emeran said that the R1.3 billion spent excluded the procurement of new trains. "It's mainly on the infrastructure recovery. Rebuilding the tracks, looking at our electrical infrastructure, the overhead lines and our substations that we had to rebuild, the passenger stations that we had to rebuild." He added that that full train services should be restored by the end of July on all rail networks in the Mother City.
Eyewitness News
6 days ago
- Eyewitness News
After Chris Hani rail corridor reopened, Hill-Lewis keen to see full train service resume in CT
CAPE TOWN - Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said he was happy to see trains moving again in the city, albeit at a reduced scale. The mayor accompanied Minister of Transport Barbra Creecy, her deputy, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, and members of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) board, who reopened the Chris Hani corridor in Khayelitsha on Thursday. This is one of the crucial links in Cape Town's central rail network. Services in this line came to a screeching halt in November 2019 due to widespread theft and vandalism. PRASA said that of the 124 Metrorail train stations in the province, only three did not have train access. Cape Town's central line is considered the backbone of public transport in the Western Cape, ferrying more than half a million train commuters when operating at its peak. Hill-Lewis said that the normal resumption of train services would be beneficial for all Capetonians. "At the moment, it's costing you more than R40 to use a minibus taxi to get to town, and this is going to bring the cost for every resident of Khayelitsha down significantly. It's going to save you money, it's going to save you time - this is a very important public service." PRASA said that full train services on the line would resume as soon as the three remaining train stations were reopened in a few months' time.
SowetanLIVE
22-05-2025
- Business
- SowetanLIVE
Government targets higher rail and freight volumes
Transport minister Barbara Creecy has told the South Africa France Investment Conference that government has set bold targets as part of its ambition to improve the underperformance of the rail and freight network. She said government wanted to move 600-million passengers a year on the passenger rail network, 10 times more than the current 60-million. 'In our ports, we want to achieve the international benchmark for gross crane moves an hour, which is between 30 and 35. 'At the moment, on a good day, we are doing 15 or 16 gross crane moves an hour. You will understand the impact that has on the speed with which our consumers are being serviced,' she said. Gross crane moves refer to the average container moves an hour measured in the total crane operation hours. Creecy said currently, South Africa was moving 300,000 tonnes of air freight a year, and the target was to move 1-million tonnes by 2029. Creecy said because of rail passenger and freight challenges, South Africa has a high accident and death rate on its roads. 'The aim is to halve the rate of accidents and the death rate by 50% by 2029. I can say at the moment with all the work we are doing, we have managed to reduce the accident and fatality rate by 15%, we believe this is an achievable target,' said Creecy. She said the national rail policy and the freight logistics road map, which have both been adopted by cabinet, focused on private participation in the logistics industry and was part of the government's rail reform ambition. 'What these two policy documents ensure is that for the first time in the history of our country, we can have what we call third party participation in Transnet and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa. 'We have always had private sector participation in our port terminals, but we have not had private sector participation in passenger rail or in freight network,' she said. TimesLIVE
Eyewitness News
22-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Godongwana lists PEPFAR withdrawal as one of several spending pressures in his budget
CAPE TOWN - Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has listed several spending pressures in his budget, like the withdrawal of the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), which may need funding later this year. The National Treasury told a media briefing before the budget on Wednesday that the withdrawal means they need R1.3 billion to plug the hole left by the withdrawal of the PEPFAR funds earlier this year. Godongwana also said the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is also experiencing spending pressures that will need to be funded at a later stage. Initial estimates by the Department of Health had put the PEPFAR funding withdrawal shortfall at more than R7 billion, saying close to 15,000 jobs in the sector were at risk. However, National Treasury chief director for Health and Social Development, Mark Blecher, said that the figure provided, following an audit by a top four accounting firm, put the figure at R1.3 billion, with another R200 million for research. In his speech, Godongwana said the latest numbers required to fund the PEPFAR shortfall were submitted this week. 'We've not made provision for the allocation of that now. The Department of Health has just given us the numbers a couple of days ago. Once the resources allow, we will deal with this matter.' Godongwana said other spending pressures that can't be addressed at the moment include accommodating population changes that impact provincial equitable share allocations, and strengthening the office of the chief justice and Statistics South Africa. ALSO READ:
Eyewitness News
22-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Budget 3.0: National Treasury slashes funds for early retirement programme
JOHANNESBURG - National Treasury has slashed funds allocated to reintroduce the early retirement programme, cutting it down by half. A whooping R11 billion was set aside during the March budget to entice public servants into early retirement as the government tries to scale down on its enormous Public Sector Wage Bill. The incentive for a voluntary exit is also set to rejuvenate the public service while retaining critical skills and promoting the entry of younger talent. READ IN FULL: The Budget Speech - 21 May 2025 While the plan is still in place, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says the money set aside for the early retirement programme has been revised to R5.5 billion for two years. Godongwana delivered another budget at the national assembly on Wednesday, after two failed attempts earlier this year. 'This budget also retains the provisional allocations for early retirement, allocations for PRASA [Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa] and the municipal trading entity reforms announced before, but at a slightly lower level than anticipated in the March 12 budget.'
