Gibela’s new train manufacturing and training centre complex in Dunnottar, Ekurhuleni, has reached near completion and manufacture of the first of 580 six-car mega-commuter trains will begin on January 2.
“By the end of the first quarter of 2018, the first train’s car body shell – essentially its metal panel-clad frame – is expected to be completed,” said a spokesperson for the rail consortium. “By the end of 2018, the first South African-built train should be ready for delivery to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.”
Gibela noted in a statement that at peak production, over 1 000 employees were expected to turn out an average of five trains a month or 62 trains per year.
Additionally, the company’s majority shareholder Alstom has already trained more than 200 South African engineers and technicians for manufacture of the trains.
