Keeping rail competitive

Narrow versus standard
gauge once again came
under the spotlight when
Dr Dave van der Meulen
of the Railway Corporate
Strategy presented a talk
on the competitiveness
and sustainability of rail in
South Africa at the annual
Railways and Harbours
Conference and Exhibition
in Johannesburg.
“The use of narrow
gauge tracks is one of
the fundamental forces
driving the various railway
scenarios in South Africa,”
he told conference goers.
“The second force is that
of state ownership versus
private ownership.”
Dr Van der Meulen said
there was no doubt that
the use of narrow gauge
tracks inherently impeded
the competitiveness of a
railway, and that the ability
to extend standard gauge
was one of the major rail
scenarios for the country.
With the debate ongoing
on whether the country
should continue to use its
narrow gauge or move to
standard gauge continuing
to rage, Dr Van der Meulen
said the country had
stretched what it could out
of narrow gauge.
“There is a train
of thought that the
narrow gauge system is
under-utilised. That is
not so, it is rather obsolete.
It is so old it cannot be
used in a competitive
environment any more.”
According to him
standard gauge has been
found to be superior in
advancing a railway’s
competitiveness.
“Our competitive
disadvantage is escalating,”
he said. “Domestically we
are competing against other
modes, internationally
against other countries. It
is important we ensure our
railways are as competitive
as possible. One must
never forget that the