Durban–Joburg high-speed rail would need State support, says supplier

Publication: Engineering News

Author: Irma Venter

Any very high speed (VHS) rail service between Durban and Johannesburg, as is currently being mulled by government, will probably have to be sub- sidised, similar to Gautrain operations, says Alstom Transport South Africa director Philippe Roch.

“It will not be profitable. I don’t know of any VHS trains anywhere making money.”

Roch says any local VHS rail service between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal will require a new standard gauge track, as well as new signalling, to cater for the speeds involved, and will be unable to make use of the existing narrow gauge railway system.

Alstom currently holds the record for the world’s fastest train ride, at 574.8 km/h, set in April 2007. “I hear we are now thinking of going to 600 km/h,” says Roch.

Alstom is keen to take part in the building of a South African VHS rail service, with Roch noting that there are several similar projects under way globally. For example, up to 2020, the US is looking at developing 2 000 km of high-speed railway systems, Brazil 400 km and Australia 1 500 km.

Alstom currently has 60% of the global VHS rail market, with Japanese companies at 12% and China at 4%, for example. The French company has sold 670 VHS trains already.

Roch describes users of VHS trains as more upmarket, with the focus also on providing a comfortable, rather than a purely functional, journey.

Alstom’s first high-speed train was developed 30 years ago, and could reach every-day operational speeds of 260 km/h, with the second generation notching up 300 km/h. The third generation, the TGV, could reach speeds of 320 km/h and the latest, the AGV, 360 km/h. (At 320 km/h, passengers in Johannesburg will be able to reach Durban in two hours.)

The first AGV trains have already started operations on lines in Italy.

Roch says the AGV offers many advantages over older-generation trains, as well as many competitor trains.

As the bogies are situated between the cars, and not underneath, the number of bogies used per train are cut by 20%. Fewer bogies mean less weight, less energy use and less maintenance, as bogies are responsible for 35% to 40% of train maintenance costs.

Roch adds that VHS trains have a longer life cycle and better reliability, as they require less maintenance than city-to-city trains and fewer stop-start operations.

The AGV, powered by synchronous permanent magnet motors, is 70 t lighter than its competitors through the use of composites, ensuring a further cut in energy consumption, he notes. More than 95% of the train is also made of easily recyclable materials.

The train also has a crashproof driver cabin.