Average weekday ridership on the Gautrain in March has jumped by 60% compared with the same month last year, says Bombela spokesperson Kelebogile Machaka.

Bombela is responsible for operating the Gautrain system on behalf of the Gautrain government.

Weekday Gautrain ridership during March increased to about 48 000 passengers, up by about 18 000 on March 2012.

Weekend ridership has stabilised at a relatively consistent level of 14 000 to 16 000 passengers a day, notes Machaka.

However, it is not all good news for the train system, now almost three years old.

“The increase in passenger demand has placed severe strain on the train system during peak periods, with demand already approaching levels only predicted in year ten of the concession period,” says Machaka.

From an operational perspective, this increased demand is further complicated by the a-symmetrical ridership pattern apparent on the system.

The morning peak from Tshwane to Johannesburg is “extremely busy”, while the reverse direction is much less so.

This pattern reverses in the afternoon, adds Machaka. The off-peak period in the middle of the day also exhibits relatively low demand.

“Several additional train-sets have already been introduced during peak times to accommodate the demand, but train availability, as well as system constraints – signalilng systems and track layouts – will preclude much more advantage from this strategy.”

Fare incentives are being considered as a mechanism to address capacity constraints.

It is also, for example, possible to increase train frequency over the longer term.

As for the Gautrain’s buses, viewed by some critics as empty for the most part, Machaka says average weekday ridership during March increased to about 19 000 passengers, which is up 90% compared with last year.

A significant and sustained step-increase in bus ridership has been noted since January, following a Christmas holiday promotion, says Machaka.

From December 15, 2012 to January 31, 2013, bus passengers were charged only R1 a trip on the Gautrain’s bus services.

Bus services have also recently been optimised, with several new routes added. Among these are a park-and-ride route between Emperors Palace and Rhodesfield station, which operates over weekends as well, and another between Killarney Mall and Rosebank station.

These new routes are designed to reduce pressure on the parking facilities at these two stations.

Another new route now operates from Pretoria station to Unisa’s campus, as well as the University of Pretoria’s Groenkloof campus.

Machaka says 93% of Gautrain bus passengers also use the trains and around 30% of train passengers also use the Gautrain buses.

“Buses are, thus, clearly very important feeders to the train system.”

Average weekday parking entries at Gautrain stations increased to about 8 000 cars during March, which is a 30% increase on March last year.

However, there are only around 10 000 available bays across the system.

Parking facilities at Pretoria, Centurion, Midrand, and Rhodesfield stations are heavily in demand and several measures are being considered to increase capacity, says Machaka.

“These may include the procurement of additional land for the provision of supplementary parking bays, as well as the roll-out of park-and-ride destinations, which can be served by the Gautrain bus service. It is also anticipated that recent optimisation of the bus routes will enable more passengers to use the bus service in preference to their cars.”

Machaka also notes that the average monthly train punctuality over the year to end January 2013 has been 98.6%, compared with the contractual target of 90%.

Punctuality is defined as a train arriving or departing within three minutes of its scheduled time.

The worst month during the period was October 2012, at 97.13%, when a lightning strike knocked out the signalling system near Marlboro station, resulting in widespread delays until the equipment could be replaced.

“Lightning has continued to affect operations on several occasions, but the Bombela Maintenance Company has implemented enhanced protection in six key locations,” says Machaka.

“While electronic systems can never be fully immune to lightning strikes and surges, the punctuality improvements since October suggest that the enhanced protection is having some positive effect during the Highveld storm season.”

Cable theft, however, remains a major headache for Bombela.

On March 20, for example, the north-south train service was disrupted for about five hours owing to the theft of signalling cables between Olifantsfontein and Samrand.

Trains operated at reduced speeds while repairs were undertaken.

“In line with international trends, the theft of metal from South Africa’s rail network is a serious problem,” comments Machaka.

However, South Africa is not alone in battling this problem.

Machaka says published statistics indicate that train delays owing to cable theft, in the UK have increased ten-fold since 2004/5. Thieves are targeting signalling cables, overhead power lines and even metal fences to sell for scrap.

Since opening the Gautrain service in June 2010, Bombela has experienced four cable theft incidents which have resulted in service delays.

“There have, however, been numerous other incidents where either our security systems have managed to prevent service-critical cables from being stolen, or where the cables stolen have not been service-critical,” says Machaka.

Work to prevent cable theft to date includes surrounding the rail reserve with a 1.5-m-high concrete palisade fence; installing security cameras at key locations in the rail reserve; deploying dedicated security teams, including dog and motorbike patrols and response teams; and now, following the March 20 incident, augmenting these security teams even more.