R12-billion Mono Rail for Soweto/Johannesburg?

K

kaspaas

Expert Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
Messages
3,732
Reaction score
6
Location
Home: Wapadrant Office: Lyttelton
Hi,

Anybody know anything more?

http://www.citizen.co.za/index/article.aspx?pDesc=38791,1,22
R12bn monorail for Gauteng

JOHANNESBURG – A R12 billion monorail will be built between Johannesburg and Soweto in the next two years, it was announced on Wednesday.
“By 2009 no one from Soweto should have to wait more than 15 minutes for transport,” Gauteng Finance and Economic Affairs MEC Paul Mashatile said at the launch of the project in Sandton.
Work on the 44.7km monorail and its 39 stations will start in September.
The monorail was intended to complement and not compete against existing forms of transport, said Mashatile.
“The problem in South Africa when it comes to public transport is not competition, the problem is people queue for three to four hours (for transport).
“... We want to move people: move them efficiently; move them safely; move them in an affordable way...”
It was hoped the monorail would move 1.5 million passengers a day, between Soweto and Johannesburg, to ease congestion on the roads.
The monorail service will consist of 4.5m high, rubber-wheeled carbon fibre carriages, 10 metres long and three metres wide -- able to carry 107 passengers each.
These will run on concrete beams atop six-metre tall pillars situated mainly on the centre medians between road carriageways, and will dock at aerial stations accessed via escalators.
The hybrid variety used in South Africa will run on a combination of electricity and solar-powered batteries.
The monorail is expected to cost USD 25 million a kilometre (about R173m) to build, but none of this will be borne by the government.
The project is a private sector initiative by the Malaysian investment consortium, Newcyc Vision, with which Mashatile, Gauteng Public Transport Road and Works MEC Ignatius Jacobs and Gauteng Economic Development Agency chief executive officer Keith Khoza signed a deal on Wednesday.
Newcyc has been given three months to find Black Economic Empowerment partners.
Newcyc chief executive officer Jeyakumar Varathan has invited both small local development companies and big civil construction companies to present the consortium with their profiles.
He said that while raw materials were being sourced outside South Africa because of present local shortages, construction would take place in the country at a factory in Mogale City, next to the Merafong Hospital.
Built on 20 hectares of land provided by the Gauteng government, the factory would be the hub of monorail developments throughout Africa.
Jacobs said he first proposed that the idea of a monorail for Gauteng be explored in his 2002 strategic agenda for transport.
However, year-long work on a feasibility study for the project had been kept largely secret until now to prevent any escalation in the prices of, among other things, land, said Mashatile.
The monorail was not expected to result in expropriations similar to those caused by construction of the Gautrain, and only minimal disruption was expected “because we're going up. This is a skybridge,” said Jacobs.
“... We are convinced we are entering a new era of modernising public transport to our province. It’s a revolution,” he said.
Instead of being run by computerised high technology, the South African service would be labour intensive -- in the interests of creating jobs and reducing poverty, he said.
The project was expected to create 100 permanent jobs a kilometre.
It would create 5000 jobs during construction with another 2400 at the factory.
While round-trip tickets were expected to cost R10 each, rides between stations would cost less, to encourage inner-city travelling in Soweto --between shopping centres, stadia and major heritage sites.
The entire route would take 45 minutes to cover at an average speed of 40km an hour, with a peak speed of 80 km/h. Trains would run every 10 to 15 minutes and every three minutes during peaks. –Sapa


Last updated
16/05/2007 15:38:36
Click to expand...
 
Instead of being run by computerised high technology, the South African service would be labour intensive -- in the interests of creating jobs and reducing poverty, he said.
Click to expand...

wtf? while the rest of the world goes and modernises their systems..........we actually go and create a labour intensive railway......in the interests of job creation?

Why don't we just get rid of all the nasty trucks and trains and all and start using logs to roll our goods to places.
We should be able to create a 0% employment cause every1 would b pulling the stuff.

stupid really really stupid


nice though that they building it.
 
And as soon as there is a strike, as is bound to happen, the monorail will be burnt down by angry commuters, more job creation.
 
armitage said:
wtf? while the rest of the world goes and modernises their systems..........we actually go and create a labour intensive railway......in the interests of job creation?

Why don't we just get rid of all the nasty trucks and trains and all and start using logs to roll our goods to places.
We should be able to create a 0% employment cause every1 would b pulling the stuff.

stupid really really stupid


nice though that they building it.
Click to expand...

Ya, that is the only sucky part.

I like the idea of a monorail. Works really well overseas. Just like Cape Town needs its trams back...
 
Monorail is a really good idea, from the point of view that it bypasses road traffic.


We've had a monorail for donkey's years back in OZ, and they certaintly have their place.

Would be great if CT got one.
 
icyrus said:
Reminds me of a Simpsons episode.
Click to expand...

First thing I thought about too...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marge_vs._the_Monorail

Marge complains about the potholes in mainstreet and on the screen it shows a popcorn truck falling into this big pothole and it burns and the hole fills with popcorn...

Then this scammer dude interrupts the town meeting and says he has a plan for them and to hook the townspeople, he mentions maybe he should rather take his plan to Shelbyville (which are Springfields arch rivals) and they urge him to tell them his plan

Scammer: What'd I say?

Someone in audience: Monorail!

Scammer: What's it called?

Someone in audience: Monorail!

Scammer: That's right! Monorail!

Audience chants Monorial soflly

Someone in audience: I hear those things are awfully loud...

Scammer: It glides as softly as a cloud.

Someone in audience (must be Apu): Is there a chance the track could bend?

Scammer: Not on your life my Hindu friend.

Someone in audience: What about us braindead slobs?

Scammer: You'll be given cushy jobs.

Someone in audience: Were you sent here by the devil?

Scammer: No good sir I'm on the level.

Chief Wiggum: The ring came off my pudding can.

Scammer: Take my pen knife my good man.
I swear it's Springfield's only choice...
Throw up your hands and raise your voice!

Audience: Monorail!

Scammer: What's it called?

Audience: Monorail!

Scammer: Once again...

Audience: Monorail!

Marge: But Main Street's still all cracked and broken...

Bart tell her: Sorry Mom the mob has spoken

Audience: Monorail!
Monorail!
Monorail!
Monorail!!!

Then Homer still goes on when everyone else stops

Homer: Mono!... Doh!
Click to expand...

I know this song by heart :o

Homer has pet possums in his train control car, he calls the short one Spicky. Leonard Nemoy (Spock) is there and Mayor Quimby mistakes him for a Ewok :rolleyes: and Homer saves the day when the trains brakes fail and he throws out a makeshift anchor (and the captian character dude says "you call that an anchor?") and Nemoy says "My work here is done" and someone says "but you didn't do anything" and Nemoy says "Didn't I?" and teleports out...

Ok, I'll shut up now with my final thought, if Springfield can build a monorial for $3 000 000, why cant we? :p
 
Heard about this new monorail.. think it will be great from a traffic standpoint less traffic= less pollution thus a + step in tackling climate change. heard RSA is also a leading country in combating climate change..
Im all for this monorail.. hope it will extend further in JHB to accomidate non gautrain serviced areas..

All the best.
 
Not only will you get thrown from your moving train, now with it being a monorail (and therefore elevated) you now get a fantastic view for a few seconds as you fall the 3 or 4 stories to your death!
 
The money will go out and we will see the headlines and so on and so forth......and then.......nothing!

I bet you!!.........I will put money on the table!!!!!

Its the good ol' South African experience :D
 
lion_fish said:
Not only will you get thrown from your moving train, now with it being a monorail (and therefore elevated) you now get a fantastic view for a few seconds as you fall the 3 or 4 stories to your death!
Click to expand...

Rofl, cordless bungee jumping.
 
Good idea to relieve congestion and push public transport. I don't see why they dont just expand on the Gautrain to soweto and southern suburbs. Most traffic comes from there and it makes sense to do that rather than having separate transport systems. Anyways hope it works out. Private initiative so we not dishing it out and open it up for fraud anyways.
 
I will put on my happy hat and say "I hope it works".

But, somehow, I doubt it. If for no reason other than experience:
1) It will need a computer system (see eNATIS)
2) It requires electricity (see eishKOM)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X