Why does South Africa's Gautrain use the British loading gauge?

[Sorcerer]

We know that the British loading gauge is quite restrictive compared to many other standard gauge railways in the world, in part because it was the first railway in the world and did not get bombed to oblivion in the same vein as European railways in World War 2 and therefore did not have the opportunity to rebuild itself. The consequences may be smaller trains compared to European counterparts, along with the lack of double-decker fleets, but this is something we accept as a minor cost compared to the prohibitive one of going through the trouble of rebuilding the infrastructure with little actual gains. However, I am curious to know why South Africa decided to opt for the British loading gauge measurements when it constructed it's Gautrain network that began operations in 2010.

How come despite using standard gauge tracks instead of the usual Cape gauge tracks the South Africans opted for the British loading gauge when building a brand new railway separated from the rest of the network instead of a wider loading gauge so trains could be ordered off shelf and be roomier for passengers instead of being bound to the same restrictions in rolling stock designs of British trains such as the tapered bodyshell shape, narrower dimensions, and lack of double-deck capabilities should they ever desire? Is it purely cost-related or is there more to it than that?

 

[Trainguy34]

I think it uses Electrostars so it would be easier to uses British Gauge

 

[Royston Vasey]

Practically off the shelf Electrostars, mechanically. The easy and cheap bit is the interior and the front fairings, but making bespoke bodies and powertrain is the expensive bit, so they used the same jigs for the extrusions and the same kit under the floor

 

[stuu]

Is it definitely built to the British loading gauge or does it just use off the shelf trains that Bombardier offered? It was built down to a price though so perhaps it is very restrictive

 

[AlterEgo]

South Africa is a terminally corrupt country and decisions about construction and infrastructure projects can be assumed to be the result of bribery on some scale.

Why they chose Electrostars or the British loading gauge won't be down primarily to utility or pragmatism!

 

[edwin_m]

There was probably nothing in the contract about compatibility with the existing network, so they bid what they could most easily and cheaply produce, and there was probably some spare capacity in Derby at the time (I think they were kits for local assembly). The bidder who puts in extra things beyond the specification they are bidding against is usually undercut by someone who doesn't.

 

[jamesontheroad]

The Gautrain system was built and is operated by a public private partnership. The project was never submitted to the provincial legislature or debated before it was approved and tendered. Had it been debated and approved it would likely have emerged looking very different, probably with some kind of integration with existing suburban rail infrastructure in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

South Africa is a terminally corrupt country and decisions about construction and infrastructure projects can be assumed to be the result of bribery on some scale.
Why they chose Electrostars or the British loading gauge won't be down primarily to utility or pragmatism!

It wasn't quite that bad in 2004 when authorised, and the trigger for construction was the 2010 World Cup, being part of the promises in the SA bid.
The aim was also to have a segregated system without connection to the disintegrating national network.

Gautrain - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Although increased flexibility could be obtained by keeping the system interoperable with the South African railway system, a strong case exists for keeping Gautrain separate from the existing network. According to the Gautrain planning and implementation study, an interoperable network may impact service delivery, increase the operating cost and tarnish Gautrain's image.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There is the other odd example of this - Thailand's airport link uses what are basically Class 360s, albeit with heftier air conditioning units bolted on top.

 

[Austriantrain]

There is the other odd example of this - Thailand's airport link uses what are basically Class 360s, albeit with heftier air conditioning units bolted on top.

If those units were offered cheap, it makes perfect sense.

However, if the infrastructure too was built on the British loading gauge, then for replacement units, operators are severely restricted instead of being able to buy off-the-shelf Continental stock. It would have been a very stupid decision.

 

[Bletchleyite]

If those units were offered cheap, it makes perfect sense.

However, if the infrastructure too was built on the British loading gauge, then for replacement units, operators are severely restricted instead of being able to buy off-the-shelf Continental stock. It would have been a very stupid decision.

Though if they want more units now the 350/2s may be available soon and VERY cheap...

 

[Austriantrain]

Though if they want more units now the 350/2s may be available soon and VERY cheap...

Maybe that was the idea: that the UK will always have newish EMU that they don’t need anymore.

 

[MarkyT]

Difficult to say whether the new infrastructure was built solely to take UK sized trains throughout, but the key issue is the spec for the platforms, built out to match the tapered body profile of the Electrostars. The platforms could be a barrier to future purchase of more standard European mainland style straighter sided or wider vehicles. With only 10 stations on the 80km network though, cutting the platforms back a little might be possible. If the current trains could be retrofitted first with moving gap filler steps that could handle variable horizontal gaps, then such a project might take place gradually, and once all platforms were treated a new fleet could start to be introduced, at first working alongside the Electrostars. The current platform height would still be locked in though.

 

[edwin_m]

Difficult to say whether the new infrastructure was built solely to take UK sized trains throughout, but the key issue is the spec for the platforms, built out to match the tapered body profile of the Electrostars. The platforms could be a barrier to future purchase of more standard European mainland style straighter sided or wider vehicles. With only 10 stations on the 80km network though, cutting the platforms back a little might be possible. If the current trains could be retrofitted first with moving gap filler steps that could handle variable horizontal gaps, then such a project might take place gradually, and once all platforms were treated a new fleet could start to be introduced, at first working alongside the Electrostars. The current platform height would still be locked in though.

They could even be fixed gap fillers (aka bigger steps), as the gauge would have to be increased over the entire route (if it isn't already) to run larger stock.

 

[JaJaWa]

There is the other odd example of this - Thailand's airport link uses what are basically Class 360s, albeit with heftier air conditioning units bolted on top.

That line is going to be used as part of the Thai High Speed Rail track and will require expensive modifications to shave the platforms etc. Although mock-ups of that route have showed Class 800s so that could be another solution.

 

[RT4038]

If those units were offered cheap, it makes perfect sense.

However, if the infrastructure too was built on the British loading gauge, then for replacement units, operators are severely restricted instead of being able to buy off-the-shelf Continental stock. It would have been a very stupid decision.

Judging by the length of time that the legacy Cape gauge suburban units have been in service, replacement units for Gautrauin will not be required quite yet.

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

AFAIK, the cheapest way to provide level boarding on a new, self-contained line is to use high floor trains and build the platforms to match the height of the train floor. Continental trains designed for level boarding from low platforms are expensive because of the complex structural engineering of the low floor sections.

Bombardier Transportation was a member of the winning consortium for Gautrain. For Bombardier, building more Electrostars would have been easier than designing a custom high floor/high platform train to a more generous loading gauge.

 

[MarkyT]

Judging by the length of time that the legacy Cape gauge suburban units have been in service, replacement units for Gautrauin will not be required quite yet.

There's a project underway now to construct large numbers of replacement trains:

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/07/business/gibela-trains-south-africa-intl/index.html

Gibela, a joint French-South African company, has won a $3.3 billion contract to replace part of the aging metro fleet run by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). It’s tasked with building 600 modern commuter trains – and it has just 10 years to do it.

Note the bodyshells for these new vehicles are distinctly British-like too, with the characteristic taper of the sides to match the high platforms on the cape gauge suburban networks. The older suburban trains are more straight-sided, which suggests they are a bit narrower above floor height.

They could even be fixed gap fillers (aka bigger steps), as the gauge would have to be increased over the entire route (if it isn't already) to run larger stock.

That would work if all the platforms could be 'shaved' during an extended closure. With moving gap fillers, the same trains could serve stations with original and cut-back platforms during a staged construction period, with fewer major service disruptions. With the Gibela factory now up and running though, it's perhaps more likely some similar British profile new trains for Gautrain might be manufactured locally in the same facility, with Alstom guts under the hood.

Bombardier Transportation was a member of the winning consortium for Gautrain. For Bombardier, building more Electrostars would have been easier than designing a custom high floor/high platform train to a more generous loading gauge.

That certainly applies for UK Bombardier and its Derby factory, but the group also included a number of mainland European works making trains for the continent to varying specs, now all part of the Alstom empire of course.

 

[edwin_m]

That would work if all the platforms could be 'shaved' during an extended closure. With moving gap fillers, the same trains could serve stations with original and cut-back platforms during a staged construction period, with fewer major service disruptions.

A moving gap filler is a complex piece of engineering with big potential for unreliability and needs space around the doorstep that's probably occupied by something else. I'd say there is zero chance of retrofitting them to a train not specifically designed to allow this.

 

[MarkyT]

A moving gap filler is a complex piece of engineering with big potential for unreliability and needs space around the doorstep that's probably occupied by something else. I'd say there is zero chance of retrofitting them to a train not specifically designed to allow this.

I'm sure you're correct about that. Much better if designed in from the outset, as on the excellent UK FLIRTs. I think it's probably moot though with the new majority Alstom-owned train factory in Gauteng province being able to produce new UK-style bodyshells for the cape gauge network. Substituting standard gauge bogies and uprating traction and braking for the higher speed of Gautrain should also be possible.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm sure you're correct about that. Much better if designed in from the outset, as on the excellent UK FLIRTs.

Though unnecessary, and thus a cost and risk of failure, if you've got one type of rolling stock, one platform height and no curved platforms. The LU S-stock, for instance, provides level boarding very well without one.

I think it's probably moot though with the new majority Alstom-owned train factory in Gauteng province being able to produce new UK-style bodyshells for the cape gauge network. Substituting standard gauge bogies and uprating traction and braking for the higher speed of Gautrain should also be possible.

In the end trains aren't purchased "off the shelf", they're built to order, and as such as long as the product exists it's not going to be significantly more expensive to go for UK profile than Euro profile, if at all. 110mph UK profile 25kV EMUs with a floor height of about 1100mm are totally standard stuff and several companies will bid which means there's competition there (certainly both Alstom and CAF probably would, and Siemens might too). Obviously it's not quite the same for trains that aren't bought by the bucketload e.g. HS2 400km/h units, but that's not what they're buying, they're buying a suburban EMU with a fancy fibreglass snout.

Less of a used market, but as a premium operation they'll probably not want used. And if they do there are some likely available e.g. the 350/2s.

 

[MarkyT]

Though unnecessary, and thus a cost and risk of failure, if you've got one type of rolling stock, one platform height and no curved platforms. The LU S-stock, for instance, provides level boarding very well without one.

I only suggested the moving variety as a means of being able to serve both original and modified platforms with the same rolling stock during a changeover period. Probably not worth considering even if shaving the platforms was desired, which I don't think is likely after these discussions anyway.

In the end trains aren't purchased "off the shelf", they're built to order, and as such as long as the product exists it's not going to be significantly more expensive to go for UK profile than Euro profile, if at all. 110mph UK profile 25kV EMUs with a floor height of about 1100mm are totally standard stuff and several companies will bid which means there's competition there (certainly both Alstom and CAF probably would, and Siemens might too). Obviously it's not quite the same for trains that aren't bought by the bucketload e.g. HS2 400km/h units, but that's not what they're buying, they're buying a suburban EMU with a fancy fibreglass snout.

This was a point I made repeatedly about HS2 rolling stock years ago. As that project had to procure a UK classic compatible train design for certain routes and get the resultant bodyshell certified, the development cost has already been swallowed and the series cost increment of manufacturing those versus notional standard UIC gauge trains is likely to be quite small so the early talk of vast savings by 'just buying standard European trains' was somewhat illusory. This was eventually borne out in the contract for the initial fleet, all of which are envisaged to be classic compatible now.

There really wouldn't be very much benefit at all in changing the platforms on Gautrain. As you say the better strategy would be to just procure any new trains based on the current infrastructure spec for which many manufacturers already have suitable designs that can be adapted, built predominantly for the UK market but also for other networks with similar body profiles around the World, of which there are many. Cape gauge trains in SA as well as Japan, New Zealand, metre gauge in Malaysia etc all have high British style platforms and very similar vehicle profiles. Great Britain is fairly unique in running narrow gauge sized trains on the standard gauge!

Less of a used market, but as a premium operation they'll probably not want used. And if they do there are some likely available e.g. the 350/2s.

Plenty of surplus EMUs in UK at the moment.