Question NW25 to the Minister of Transport
13 April 2023 - NW25
Cuthbert, Mr MJ to ask the Minister of Transport
(1)(a) For what period has the Daveyton Train Station been inactive, (b) what are the reasons that the specified train station is inactive and (c) what resources have been allocated to ensure that the station is not subjected to further vandalism; (2) whether any budget has been allocated for the rehabilitation or activation of the Daveyton Train Station; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) what (a) are the names of the destinations that commuters could travel by train from the Daveyton Train Station before it was de-activated, (b) did it cost commuters to travel to the specified destinations and (c) is the average cost for commuters to travel to the specified destinations without train services; (4) whether the routes of the specified destination were profitable; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (5) what was done to make the routes profitable before the closure of the station?
Reply:
1. (a) The Daveyton train station has not been operational since 18 January 2020.
(b) Following the declaration of the state of disaster, the country was placed on lockdown level 5 that included prohibition of rail services. During that period, due to absence of security the station infrastructure was vandalised.
(c) PRASA has since deployed physical security to protect the commuter rail infrastructure, including stations. In the Gauteng East Region, where the station is located, a total of 926 physical security guards, which includes armed and unarmed have since been deployed.
2. An estimated budget of R15m has been set aside under the National Station upgrade programme. The funds will be used to upgrade the station including retail or shops to serve secondary mandate. The actual construction works will be sequenced and aligned to train service timelines, which have not been operationalised, as PRASA is bringing back corridors in phased approach to ensure that all aspects of operating the corridor are attended to.
3. (a) Commuters could travel to the following stations from Daveyton Station: Alliance, Van Ryn, Northmead, Avenue, Dunswart, Boksburg East, Boksburg, East Rand, Angelo and Delmore;
(b) Based on the prices in the table below, it was relatively cost-effective to travel by train between Daveyton – Johannesburg which means that commuters with destinations before Johannesburg were paying an even lesser amount.
|
Type of ticket |
Price |
|
Single |
R 11.50 |
|
Return |
R 22.50 |
|
Weekly |
R 75.00 |
|
Monthly |
R235.00 |
(c) The travel cost for commuters without train services is currently unknown to PRASA.
(4) The PRASA legal mandate to provide commuter rail services is not premised on a profit objective, but rather on rendering the service to communities as directed by government. It is therefore on this basis that the routes in question are not profitable. The rail operations work on a cost coverage model, recovering all input costs through fare revenue generation supplemented by the allocated government subsidy as total income. The overall cost coverage in the region is at 4%. PRASA is currently undertaking a corridor costing model that will assist in determining or apportioning the cost per line. As things currently stand, the costs of running the train services are centralised.
(5) Taking into account that the rail operations work on a cost coverage model, measures that were put in place were not meant to achieve profitability, but rather ensure sustainability and financial viability of the service. These included increasing the capacity of the train service to meet commuter demands through the repairs to damaged infrastructure, developing a timetable that is aligned to travel patterns; restoring the home and destination station to increase access to the system as well as improving security and guarding services.