Engineering News | Features Library | Archive

Roads

Knowledge transfer biggest BEE spin-off

By: Irma Venter 9th December 2005 To Strategic Partnership Group (SPG) chairperson Mzolisi Diliza – perhaps better known as Chamber of Mines CE – the most important benefit the black economic- empowerment grouping expects from its participation in building and operating the Gautrain is knowledge transfer. →

Gautrain to be built on Electrostar platform

By: Irma Venter 9th December 2005 The Gautrain will be built on an Electrostar platform, but will be the odd one out in this Bombardier family of trains, as it will have a built-for-speed nose, as opposed to the rather blunt look it normally sports. →

‘Look to SA engineering skills first’ – SAACE president

By: Irma Venter 9th December 2005 By mid-2006 there will be 20 building sites between Johannesburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg International Airport (JIA) as the Bombela consortium should start construction of the Gautrain project early next year. →

Old versus new

By: Irma Venter 9th December 2005 How times have changed . . . and figures . . . →

French company to ensure smooth operation

By: Irma Venter 9th December 2005 French company RATP Dev →

What now for Gautrain?

By: Irma Venter 9th December 2005 The R20-billion plus Gautrain project, which has so far spent five years in the making, has become the subject of a feverish and very public debate in recent weeks. →

Canadian firms seeks to make SA inroads

By: peter cromberge 2nd December 2005 A Canadian-based company offering a range of environmental solutions for industry has entered the South African market with products aimed predominantly at the mining and construction sectors. →

SA scraps Durban port concessioning plan

By: Liezel Hill 25th November 2005 South Africa has shelved plans to invite the private sector to manage the country's busy Durban container terminal in favour of a strategy to improve efficiency and reduce business costs, a top official said yesterday. →

Steel’s innovativeness taking construction industry by storm

By: Mariaan Webb 25th November 2005 As time and money are critical factors in the construction industry, innovative uses of structural steel in commercial and industrial applications are being implemented to overcome industry challenges. →

Grindrod expects 2005 earnings to rise by up to 50%

By: Terence Creamer 24th November 2005 In line with JSE rules, shipping group Grindrod has advised that its headline earnings a share for the 12 months ended December 31, 2005, are expected to increase by between 45% and 50% over the 123,7 cents a share reported in 2004. →

Transport union calls for 'urgent review' of Gautrain

23rd November 2005 The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) has called on government to “urgently” review its plans for the luxury passenger carrier, Gautrain, whose costs have escalated from an initial R7-billion estimate to R20 -illion over the past few months. →

Mombasa waterfront is on the cards

By: John Muchira 18th November 2005 Kenya Ports Authority calls for international bids →

R7bn roads blueprint

By: Irma Venter 18th November 2005 Three new freeways on cards for Gauteng →

Smart-card solution pondered

By: Irma Venter 11th November 2005 Transport department seeks innovative solution to integration challenge →

New route unpacked

By: Irma Venter 11th November 2005 Changes now subject of environmental study →

Spoornet-Sasol sets 1mt/y chemicals export target

By: Terence Creamer 10th November 2005 Railways utility Spoornet and petrochemicals group Sasol have signed-off on a collaborative supply-chain deal, which should see a doubling of railed tonnage of specialty chemicals over the next three years. →

Lawmakers question Gautrain costs, timing

By: Liezel Hill 9th November 2005 The controversial Gautrain rapid-rail link project was drawn further into the national spotlight yesterday, as project leader Jack van der Merwe answered probing questions from the parliamentary portfolio committee for transport. →

New route plan may avert lawsuit

By: Irma Venter 4th November 2005 The proposed realignment of the Gautrain rapid-rail link between the Pretoria and Hatfield stations may avert the continuation of court action by the Muckleneuk and Lukasrand Property Owners and Residents Association (MLPORA). →

SA group leads Kenya win

By: John Muchira 28th October 2005 A consortium led by South Africa’s Sheltam Close Corporation has won the bid to operate and manage the Kenya’s and Uganda’s railways for the next 25 years. →

NONSTOP INNOVATION

By: Helene Le Roux 28th October 2005 One of the pioneers of commercial vehicle production, automotive manufacturer DaimlerChrysler, is working on a number of new technologies that stand to revolutionise the industry. →

Aircons supplied for rail carrier’s loco upgrade project

By: Mariaan Webb 28th October 2005 In another custom application designing climate-control systems for railway applications, Booyco Engineering was awarded the contract to develop and supply air conditioners for Spoornet’s 8E shunter locomotives. →

Tram-tyre sales are on the increase

By: Mariaan Webb 28th October 2005 With the international demand for tram tyres on the increase, South African company Ringrollers has invested more than R2-million in new machinery to cater for the anticipated growth. →

Railway brake-block contract to boost local supplier

By: Mariaan Webb 28th October 2005 The division of DCD-Dorbyl, which manufactures railway brake blocks for the local and international railway industries, Metpro, has been awarded the largest part of a contract to supply railway brake blocks to Transnet. →

Reglazing programme keeps train windows in tact

28th October 2005 Every day, 2,1-million South African passengers travel on Metrorail’s 379 train sets, consisting of 4 635 carriages, using 470 stations, all connected by 2 400 km of track. →

R6,85m residential road project finished in 15 months

28th October 2005 Local company Stemele Bosch Africa (SBA), part of the B&A group, has recently completed the design and construction management of ?asphalt-surfaced residential streets in Soweto-on-Sea, a suburb of Port Elizabeth. →

Lifting equipment for different rail applications

28th October 2005 Specialist in lifting, pulling and positioning systems, Bellambie Mining & Industrial, supplies a range of specialist equipment designed for rail and railcar applications. →

New freight logistics strategy to boost SA's transport systems

By: Mariaan Webb 28th October 2005 A decade of continuous change in international transport man- agement has put local transport systems under pressure to adapt their role and function to a more demanding oper-ational environment. →

‘Concrete roads just as quiet as asphalt’ – study

28th October 2005 A recent study by The Road Information Program (TRIP) in the US found that concrete roads were so durable that they often exceeded their design lives by years – or even decades – and often handled three times more traffic than designed for. →

R226m road project to link four KZN cities

28th October 2005 In a joint venture with newly-established Ibhongo Consulting, Stewart Scott International (SSI) was appointed by the Kwazulu-Natal Department of Transport to design and supervise the construction of about 94 km of Main Road P700. →

$92,5m facelift planned for Kenya airport

By: John Muchira 21st October 2005 Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has put out an international tender for the construction of a terminal passenger apron, taxiways, carparks and associated facilities at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), in Nairobi. →

Tanzania in big road-upgrading programme

By: John Muchira 21st October 2005 The Tanzanian government has embarked on a big road-upgrading programme. →

Alternative route being mulled over

By: Irma Venter 21st October 2005 New route through the Jacaranda city proposed →

Eastern Cape contracts bus company to improve passenger transport

19th October 2005 The Eastern Cape government has contracted a bus company to be the sole subsidised bus service provider in the former Transkei. →

Radebe issues first taxi operating licences

17th October 2005 Transport Minister Jeff Radebe has issued 20 operating licences to Free State taxi operators who have converted their radius permits. →

Gauteng to spend billions to improve public transport

13th October 2005 Gauteng is to invest billions of rands in efforts to improve road infrastructure and the public transport sector. →

Framework laid for rail competition

By: Terence Creamer 7th October 2005 The South African government has finally moved to create certainty around its future strategy for the freight sector as a whole, but more specifically the State-controlled and underperforming rail-freight industry. →

Mega-project guru joins Transnet team

By: Terence Creamer 7th October 2005 State transport utility Transnet has appointed one of South Africa's most experience mega-project managers, Bernard Smith, to help it with the rollout of its ambitious R40-billion capital programme over the next five years. →

Regulatory regimes get the chop in new freight strategy

3rd October 2005 The recently unveiled National Freight Logistics Strategy will see the number of regulatory agencies dealing with compliance issues in the freight industry significantly reduced in order to lower costs and simplify the process of transporting goods. →