The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is being totally rebuilt, says PRASA strategy GM Anna-Marie Lubbe.

“We are hard at work rebuilding PRASA. It is not a recovery, it is not a rehabilitation [process] – it is a total rebuild.”

Lubbe adds that PRASA is focused on building a new rail system that will allow it to consistently offer a service that is fast, reliable and safe.

“I think that has been our downfall in the past; that we could not provide a consistently good service.”

PRASA operates a commuter passenger rail service, as well as a long-distance passenger rail service.

Lubbe says that PRASA saw destruction at a massive scale prior to Covid-19 and during the pandemic, especially on Cape Town’s Central line and the Mabopane line in Gauteng.

Overhead traction equipment disappeared, substations were vandalised and signalling and telecommunications systems were destroyed.

“People also carried away our perway – our rail tracks. This is not someone who needs to buy bread, this is organised crime,” says Lubbe.

All this meant that PRASA could only restart some services – six out of 40 lines – following the hard lockdown related to Covid-19.

“We are currently sitting at 15 lines, with 10% of the trains we normally run. Even where we introduced trains, we have limited service,” notes Lubbe.

She explains that PRASA cannot currently increase train frequency and speed and, therefore, ridership, because of the faltering signalling systems that must be rebuilt.

Lubbe says PRASA is rebuilding the commuter rail system corridor by corridor, with a focus on those lines carrying the most commuters first.

The first phase is to restore the service with a peak and off-peak service, but without fully functioning signalling systems and stations.

Phase 2 aims to revitalise and upgrade stations, build footbridges and have a programme of cleaning around the stations.

A war room that meets every week and reaches down to provincial level has been created to execute this programme.

“With the war room, we have also been able to unlock some of our procurement issues,” adds Lubbe.

The corridors that PRASA wishes to still tackle this year includes the Central line from Langa to Nyanga.

In Gauteng, the aim is to retore the Johannesburg to Naledi corridor; Johannesburg to Leralla; and Pretoria to Johannesburg.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the goal is to restore the Durban to KwaMashu and Durban to Umlazi lines next.

Lubbe adds that there is a strong focus on strengthening security systems within the new PRASA.

“We do not have a closed [rail] system –one of the few in the world. This open system leaves us vulnerable to theft and vandalism, so we want to close off our system.”

This means that all the depots are currently being walled off, with the rail corridors to follow, with the Mabopane service first in line.

“This is to protect commuters and our fare revenue,” says Lubbe. “This will all contribute to enabling us to run a consistent service with people who pay for the service they are using.”