Prasa announces plans to improve South African rail network

15 February 2012

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has revealed plans to invest an impressive R136 billion to buy 7,000 new trains and also upgrade the facilities at train stations across the country.

Lucky Montana, Prasa group chief executive officer, revealed the breakdown of the overall investment, explaining that R13 billion will be spent on infrastructure development.

An additional R3 billion, meanwhile, will be spent on the construction of new depots in Cape Town and Gauteng, Mr Montana told buanews.gov.za.

The new trains are expected to be in use by 2015, according to Mr Montana, who said that the group is expecting to receive somewhere between 500 to 600 coaches a year until 2032.

"The people of South Africa must have a mode of transport that they will be proud of," he explained.

Mr Montana added that the new trains would be lighter and more energy efficient, with safety concerns also at the forefront of designers' minds.

Category: Transport