The TT2 will also be a six coach train as the previously received Test Train No 1 (TT1). The first three coaches will also be empty, with exposed electrical panels and no passenger comforts. However, the remainder of the three coaches will be fitted with all the passenger comforts in a similar fashion to the expected final passenger train.
The differences in the internal will mark the second phase of testing by the Prasa and Gibela teams which will include upgraded tests from the lessons learnt from TT1. From the first three coaches, the testing teams will compare their findings from TT1 and investigate how the changes and adjustments affect the specified customer comforts and functionality of the train as per Prasa’s specifications.
The PDTC, on the other hand has been specially built to allow the public to have first-hand experience of how the final train will look like. This will be a single train coach and will come fully fitted with all the passenger comforts as part of Prasa’s specifications to Gibela, the manufactures of the train. Prasa will invite the public to view the coach at its key stations in order for the public to view the expected final train.
“On behalf of the Prasa board, we are quite satisfied with the consistent delivery against our set targets. We are especially pleased with the arrival of the Public Display Train Coach as it that will allow ordinary members of the public and our passengers to experience the future of passenger rail trains and the successful investment by Prasa into our new rolling stock” said Dr Popo Molefe, chairman of the Prasa Board.
TT2, as is the case with TT1, will never be released as a commercial train but will remain a test train while all the findings from the tests will ensure that all final train manufacturing specifications comply to the changes recommended by the testing teams. The PDTC on the other hand will remain a showcase train and will be moved around Prasa’s main train stations.
“The delivery of new trains must never be divorced from the overall Modernisation Programme which will take 20 years to complete. We must modernise the infrastructure to allow the new trains with the new technology they hold to run safely. This means that Prasa will continue to roll out major construction works which will, in the interim, disrupt some services in order to deliver the new trains in those upgraded corridors.
We urge our commuters and the public to be patient with the changes. This is the price of modernising a system that has been on the verge of collapse for decades. In order for our people to travel in dignity and on time, we must invest in our future now. That process needs patience and sacrifice from all South Africans” added Dr Molefe.
Prasa is already planning a Sod-Turning event on Friday, 4 March which will be officiated by the National Minister of Transport, Honourable Dipuo Peters. The event will mark the start of construction for the building of the R1 billion factory capable of manufacturing new Prasa trains and key components, train maintenance and train testing of newly built trains.
