12 June 2001
It is indeed a great pleasure for me to participate in the launch of the new corporate image of the Main Line Passenger Services. I am delighted that the launch itself is taking place in NASREC - an area that quite clearly serves as a link between Soweto and the Greater Johannesburg area. As you may know, many of our people from Soweto travel to their places of work using rail transport. Today, however, our focus is on the long distance rail passengers service, namely the Mainline Passenger Services.
Mainline Passenger Services is one of the important business units under Spoornet. Spoornet is familiar to millions of our people in all corners of our country. The name Mjantshi is a household name among township residents in Kwa Mashu, Soweto and others, and among migrant workers from rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and other Provinces. It is therefore important that in building a new corporate image for the Mainline Passenger Services, we need to embrace the current strengths and the fact that rail transport touches our daily lives in many ways.
As you may be aware, Mainline Passenger Services provides the cheapest, most affordable form of transport, and remains the cheapest and safest form of transport for long distance travellers in particular. The image of the Mainline Passenger Services therefore should not mainly be about the transport of soldiers to the borders of our beautiful land, or about illegal immigrants jumping off moving trains taking them back to their native lands in Southern Africa. Our task as government is to ensure that the Mainline Passenger Services remains the core of long distance transport in this country.
The corporate image we seek to create is of a Mainline Passenger Services that is safe, reliable, and affordable to our people. It is because Mainline Passenger Services continue to be used by sections of our people who happen to be in cities and who seek to connect to their families in the far-flung corners of our country. Hence, more than 4 million people of our country continue to use the Mainline Passenger Services. The provision of long distance rail commuter service is also critical in overcoming the urban rural divide in our country.
As the Minister responsible for Spoornet, and therefore the Mainline Passenger Service, I was proud to see the men from Emzini Wezinsizwa take part in drive to popularising this important service. I am aware of the popular reception that Mugubane, Khabazela, Tshawe, Mofokeng, and Chirwale received in areas such Khayelitsa and others in a bid to popularise mainline passenger service as a user-friendly and accessible service to our people. I trust that these national roadshows by these popular TV personalities and celebrities has raised awareness about the important service that the Mainline Passenger Services provides.
As you may be aware, the Government is in the process of engaging various stakeholders including labour on the restructuring of Spoornet. These initiatives also focus on the future passenger services in our rail system especially the future of mainline passenger services. Our approach to the restructuring of Spoornet will be informed by the need to build on the strengths of our rail network and enhance services to all South Africans. We are guided by our commitment to ensure that rail remain viable and sustainable in this country. As a government, we will not adopt strategies that will ultimately undermine the viability and sustainability of rail. We know the importance of rail to the economy and to long distance travellers to this country.
As Government we are aware that for our rail service to be viable, we have to invest in it. For decades, our rail system has been allowed to decay due to lack of investment. We are aware that our infrastructure such as trains and signaling system are old, and in some instances outdated when compared to those found in other parts of the world.
We are acutely aware that Shosholoza Meyl will require a big cash injection if it is to be sustainable. The business unit like many others in the rail sector has a long history of under- investment, having invested only R18,3 million in capital investment in the past three years. An estimated R450 million is required over the next five years to refurbish rolling stock.
It is not surprising therefore that Shosholza Meyl's has seen a decline in passenger numbers, despite being the most affordable when compared to its competitors. Needles to say that other market forces, for example, the growth of the taxi industry and the shift to own transport also had a hand.
It is against this background that we as Government wish to commend Shosholoza Meyl on its efforts to turn the long distance rail service around. We have noted with pleasure the initiatives outlined here today, and we are confident that they will yield positive results.
In conclusion, let me take this opportunity recognise and thank the employees of Spoornet and in particular Mainline Passenger Services. It is the contribution of the thousands of men and women at Spoornet that has brought us to where we are today.
I thank you.