Siemens has been awarded a €180 million contract to supply signalling and train protection systems to South Africa’s densely-populated Gauteng province.
The contract, which was awarded by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), will include the installation of modern interlockings and new safety systems for the regions surrounding Johannesburg and Pretoria.
In 2011, Siemens upgraded a quarter of the region’s signalling systems and built a new control centre. The new order will see the company modernise the remaining three quarters before the control centre takes over the running of the entire network in 2018.
Sami Atiya, chief executive of the Siemens Mobility and Logistics Division, said: “The new train protection system not only increases capacity, but also ensures more flexibility, greater safety and fewer delays.”
South Africa has the continent’s largest rail network and the 10th biggest system in the world.
