South Africa is on the cusp of a new age in public transport networks, in the wake of moves to introduce tram cars in major cities like Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.

With over 4 million public transport commuters daily, according to statistics from the National Department of Transport, South Africa is a country in desperate need of a more viable and sustainable public transport network – since the existing modes like taxis, buses and trains can hardly cope.

In a move that holds promise for the public transport sector in the country and the rest of Africa, French conglomerate Alstom is in talks with various municipalities to usher in an integrated tramline system.

A tram is a rail vehicle which runs on tramway tracks along public urban streets, and also sometimes in a segregated right of way. The lines or networks operated by tramcars are called tramways.

Trams are attractive to cities and car drivers because they are integrated and minimise delays in traffic.They run at very short intervals, yet they are much longer with the capacity to carry 350 – 450 passengers.

People are more likely to leave their cars at home and use them, thus increasing benefits to the environment.

The muted tramline system for South Africa will use Alstom’s latest innovation called SRS technology. Engineering News reports that representatives of Alstom visited the country late last year and made presentations to municipalities in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.

This was at the sidelines of a seminar in the country where Alstom gave a presentation about public-private partnership transport integration in cities across South Africa.

Tramways powered by electricity, the most common type, were once called electric railways due to their being widely used in urban areas before the universal adoption of electrification. Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than conventional trains and rapid transit trains.

“We have received a lot of interest for integrated tram systems from various municipalities throughout South Africa, most of which already have public transport projects and are looking at different opportunities in that space,” Alstom tramway system director Jean Francois Blanc said.

The company noted that projections pointed to a rapid population growth in Africa and that the demand for integrated transportation services would continue to grow into the future owing to the effect of urbanisation and the need for sustainable development.

“Integrated tram systems are ideal candidates to address these issues. Our vision is to be close to our customers and to thoroughly understand their mobility needs. Therefore, proximity is key in our strategy,” said Alstom Southern Africa Managing Director Xavier Boisgontier.

“Therefore, we are ready to respond to all mobility needs in all Middle East and African (MEA) countries, including requests to develop integrated systems in South Africa. We want to offer our support to be a part of the building of the rail industry of countries and be the preferred partner for rail development in MEA countries,” he said.

Blanc further commented that the tramway systems had been used to help cities become more attractive by renewing the urban environment and linking together points of interest, like hospitals, universities and city centres.

He noted that tramway systems were more energy efficient than bus systems, and had less resistance to motion, which decreases the amount of electricity they used.

“We are carrying on with discussions, but nothing has been materialised,” Blanc said of Alstom’s interaction with South African municipalities.

Fast Facts

Government surveys indicated that nearly two-thirds of households in South Africa do not have access to public transport.

There are approximately 3,9 million public transport commuters.

The 2,5 million taxi commuters account for over 63 percent of public transport work trips, bus services account for another 22 percent of public transport commuters and the balance are carried to work by train.

In addition to the 2,5 million commuters who use minibus-taxis as the main mode of travel, there are another 325 000 commuters who use taxis either as a feeder mode to other public transport services.

30% of households in South Africa spend more than 10% of their income on public transport.