Gautrain project moves into top gear

The Durban harbour was a buzz of activity last week when the first two of 15 Gautrain Bombardier Electrostar rail cars arrived in the country. Assembled in the United Kingdom, they were offloaded and placed on trucks for road transportation to their final destination in Midrand, Gauteng. According to Dr Barbara Jensen, spokesperson for the Gautrain Rapid Rail project, the next shipment of two more of these rail cars is expected at the port on December 9. For Micor, which has been contracted by Bombardier to manage the entire logistics of the trains and ancillary equipment from source to final destination, it’s a race against time with the movement of abnormal loads embargoed for the busy holiday season from December 5 to January 21. “But fortunately we have a window of opportunity to December 12 to get the next train to its destination,” Micor national projects manager Mike Barnes told FTW. “The rail cars are constructed and assembled at the Bombardier Transportation manufacturing facility in Derby in the UK for Gautrain. Once completed each rail car is loaded onto a trailer and transported in twos by road from the Derby workshop to Immingham harbour on the east coast of the English midlands and then by sea to Antwerp. From Antwerp the cargo travels by sea to Durban and then by road to its final destination at the Gautrain train stabling and maintenance depot in Midrand,” Jensen said. The Gautrain rail fleet will total 96 Electrostar cars, which will be operated as four-car train sets. Fifteen of the cars, including all 10 airport rail cars, are being manufactured and completed in Derby. The other rail cars have been packed into flat packs and shipped to South Africa where they are assembled and completed at a depot in Nigel on the East Rand. For Micor, it’s been a challenging but highly rewarding project, says Barnes. “Our UK agent, Agility, is handling the forwarding from Immingham to Durban, which is where we take over – handling the customs clearing and forwarding to final destination, with Vanguard the contracted road haulage specialist.” VAT on the two units amounted to R6.9m. In terms of the Vanguard contract, Micor has commissioned the company to purpose-build modifications to one of the trailers to minimise cost. “It involved a R675 000 investment and means that the trailer is lighter and has only six axles as opposed to 12,” said Barnes. The entire contract, which started in August this year, is scheduled for completion in 2010. It includes 15 full train cars, 61 cabs and 81 flatpacks which comprise the roof and floor sections. These weigh 14.5t each and are 18.5m long. In addition 162 40 foot containers carrying component parts need to be delivered to Nigel along with 62 40 foot high side containers. Once this year’s shipments are complete, Micor will be gearing up for a busy year ahead, said Barnes, with the fifth train due in February, six in March, two in April and two in May.