Johannesburg - Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Ismail Vadi should stick to politics and forget about driving trains.
The MEC hurtled through the Centurion Gautrain station at 160km/h, failing to stop to pick up passengers and forcing the Gautrain operations control centre to perform an emergency stop of the train.
Vadi was operating the Gautrain training simulator on Monday at a media briefing to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the launch of the fast train.
To the amusement of the media, he opted to drive the train under the strict guidance of trainer Louis Theunissen, who said that if the MEC had been the real driver, he would have received a six-month suspension, or worse, retribution.
The briefing was to demonstrate the strict safety measures along the route and the operating system.
For the first time since the Gautrain began operations in June 2010, media representatives were given the opportunity to go on the “sweeper” train, which left the Midrand depot at 4.26am.
Gautrain staff start work at 3am. The sweeper is the first step to prepare for the daily operations, inspecting the track to ensure there are no safety hazards prior to the passenger train services commencing, said Jack van der Merwe, chief executive of the Gautrain Management Agency.
The train drivers do a routine check of conditions on the tracks to Park, Hatfield and OR Tambo International Airport stations, the signage and other possible problems.
Since 2008, not a single obstruction has been identified.
The media were also taken on a tour of the training centre where new drivers undergo their training.
“They have to do 41 hours of training on the simulator, followed by five days of practical training, starting off as conductors and progressing to drivers,” Theunissen pointed out.
Applicants are subjected to medical and psychometric tests, as well as internal and internationally accredited tests, before being allowed to drive.
If they exceed the speed limit by just 2km/h, they are given warnings. Exceeding the speed limit by 5km/h triggers an automatic reduction of speed by the system, and 8km/h over the limit results in an automatic emergency halt of the train.
The drivers have to undergo breathalyser tests and sign a declaration of fitness daily, to ensure there are no medical conditions that render them unfit to take on this highly responsible task.
Every two years they have to undergo a full fitness evaluation including eye and ear tests, as well as lung and heart tests.
“We are very strict and adhere to international standards of fitness. Drivers also have to undergo refresher courses every two years,” Theunissen added.
Ten of the 59 Gautrain drivers are women.
Strict checks are carried out on all the carriages. They all go through automatic tests to check for faults when they are taken in at night. That is besides the normal routine weekly and monthly maintenance checks.
Every coach is cleaned during the night and prepared for the following day.
The operations control centre monitors the entire Gautrain system on a 24-hour basis to detect any attempts to interfere with the system.
The centre has picked up attempted cable thefts during the past five years.
Vandalism has been kept to a minimum, with only five acts recorded. These included smashing of windows, spraying coaches with graffiti and slashing the seats. Arrests were made in some of the cases.
The operations centre does not only ensure the system is safe, but that system delays are minimised.
There is no compromise on customer safety on the Gautrain, and often delays are as a result of a safety threat being detected by the system.
Once the threat has been detected, the train services are suspended and the problem attended to and rectified.
Vadi said that since the start of operations five years ago, there had been 50 million passenger trips. “We have 98 percent efficiency, which is equivalent to any First World country. We have demonstrated that it is possible to build a safe, reliable, efficient and accessible public transport system.
“Once we have all the bus rapid transit systems up and running in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni by next year, the building blocks for our public transport will be in place. We will then have between 700km and 800km of public transport operational.
“The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) is also replacing its fleet of carriages, so collectively there is a strong basis for a whole new public transport system in the province,” he said.
The Gautrain has presented the province with an opportunity to empower its citizens and to expand economic activity.
The service integrates with other transport modes such as Prasa, Rea Vaya, taxis and municipal buses.
The Gautrain is a transport flagship project in the province and a convenient, fast and efficient means of travel that has become the backbone of a more integrated transport system for the people of Gauteng, Vadi added.
The Star