LISTEN #Metrorail: Council gives City of Cape Town go ahead

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Council has given the go ahead to the City to proceed with its plans to take over management of the passenger rail service in the city, after assessing the state of disrepair of the city's Metrorail infrastructure. In a council meeting on Thursday, the business plan for the assignment of the urban rail function to the City of Cape Town, was approved. The City’s Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA) will now approach national government for the necessary approvals and funding to take over commuter rail in an incremental and structural manner. Mayco member for Transport and Urban Development Brett Herron said this, however, would not happen overnight. “Our business plan is the first step in this process which entails a detailed due diligence and planning phase. This phase is to be concluded within the next two to three years, following which we will present an Assignment Implementation Plan and a Rail Master Plan to council for approval.

"Following council’s approval this morning, we will commence with our strategy for getting urban rail back on track,” Herron said.

Herron said the City’s chief priority is to create a customer-centred urban rail system where rail becomes the norm and the mode of choice for the majority of Capetonians.

Among the City’s goals for the service will be to ensure punctuality, with at least 80% of trains running on time.

“We have to restore commuters’ faith in passenger rail by ensuring that… commuters feel and are safe at our stations and on our trains,” Herron said.

The City is also aiming to ensure commuters can use one method of payment used for all public transport services, be it for travelling in a MyCiTi bus, or by train.

“For the City to fix passenger rail we will have to take over all of the assets required to provide the service – from the stations and the land the assets are located on, to the tracks, signalling system, and the existing and new rolling stock to be allocated to Cape Town through the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA) recapitalisation programme,” Herron said.

“To improve and enforce service standards relating to punctuality, safety and security, maintenance, and customer service, the City must be the contracting authority… for drawing up and awarding the operating contracts to those rail operators who will be running the six existing commuter lines, and all future lines.”