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Train maker Gibela is confident it can meet the terms of its R51-billion contract to deliver 600 newly built train sets to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) by 2029, despite the impact of Covid-19, says CEO Hector Danisa.

Train-maker Gibela is confident it can meet the terms of its R51-billion contract to deliver 600 newly built train sets to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa by 2029, says CEO Hector Danisa.

Gibela has produced 40 of the 600 new passenger trains for which it has a R59-billion contract with the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). 

City Press - Advertorial, 6 September 2020

South Africa has been subdued by the prevailing lockdown and COVID-19 economic circumstances. However, train manufacturer Gibela has invested R6.4-billion in the country's manufacturing sector.

Train manufacturer Gibela has launched its first socioeconomic impact report, sharing the progress it has made in terms of economic, social and environmental initiatives from January 2014 to March this year.

Gibela invested in the ECD initiative three years ago as part of its holistic approach to skills development. The graduates are from 60 ECD centres representing our neighbouring communities of Duduza, Tsakane and Kwa-Thema, as well as Mamelodi, which is in the precinct of our TSSSA activities.

To date, since the start of production at the Dunnottar site in 2018, six trains have been built at the new plant. The delivery plan is for 20 trains for the financial year ending in March 2020 – only three have been handed over to the customer so far.

The localised production of traction motors will contribute 30% towards Gibela’s local content key performance indicator by May 2021 and by 2025, this figure will rise to 65%.

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula visited Piennarspoort train station in Pretoria to inspect new blue trains which will be replacing the old yellow models. Commuters also raised their concerns as he spoke about his vision for the service

"Delayed" and "canceled," two words that infuriate and frustrate train commuters on platforms all over the world. South Africa is no exception to this, as these words regularly appear on the signal boards of the state-owned service, but that could be about to change as major investments aim to modernize the rail network.

Elizabeth Foli, Test Engineering Manager in the Testing and Commissioning Department at Gibela’s train manufacturing plant at Dunnottar in Ekurhuleni, has been named as one of 12 Accenture Rising Stars for 2019.