Rail green paper still awaits ministerial approval

The keenly awaited rail green paper is now with the minister of transport, Ben Martins, and is “in the political arena”, according to Jan-David de Villiers, chief director of public transport in the DoT. Further discussions have been held with Transnet and other relevant parties, he added, and the official preparation for publishing the green paper is completed. Its public release has been further delayed by the festive season political shut-down, but the minister has said that he wants his officials to go ahead and put the paper on the printing press. “But he still has to officially approve this,” said De Villiers. The reason why the private sector is keen to read the green paper is that it is said to define the future involvement of the private sector in rail operation. When deputy minister of public works Jeremy Cronin was transport deputy minister, he proposed a green paper that would pave the way for an official National Rail Transport Policy and a possible Rail Act. And, he added, the rail policy would consider (amongst other things): * Examining the case for and against separating ownership of operations from infrastructure, particularly in the case of Transnet Freight Rail; * The establishment of a Rail Economic Regulator; * Branch line revitalisation; * The integration of Metrorail services into city-led Integrated Public Transport Networks; and * The feasibility of highspeed lines.