Gravy train comes in again for impoverished East Cape region
By Deon Van Der Merwe East London Correspondent
IT‘S all aboard as the R117-million Kei Rail project gets on track to reinstate the “moving link” between East London and Mthatha before the end of March.
The project is viewed as a catalyst for economic opportunities in one of the most depressed areas of the Eastern Cape.
After a long closure, during which the once busy railway line between the Border-Kei region‘s two major cities fell into a state of serious neglect, the multi-million-rand project to recommission the line will see the first train in years steam out of East London for Butterworth on an official inaugural trip on March 29.
A regular weekend passenger service will commence on April 6. Trains will leave East London on Fridays for a 12-hour overnight journey to Mthatha, returning on a Sunday to arrive back on Monday morning.
Provincial transport department spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca says the link will essentially serve to convey home the large number of people from the Transkei who live and work in and around East London.
“Because this is essentially a service for the large number of people from Transkei who live and work in the greater Buffalo City area, ticket prices will be kept to a minimum. A one-way fare will cost R25,” Kumbaca says.
He says that in addition to the R117-million invested in refurbising the line, a further R27-milion has been pumped into the project so far this year. An amount of R21-million has been spent on rail maintenance, with a further R6-million going towards operational expenses. Metro Rail will run the service on behalf of the government.
Considering the safety hazards of passenger travel by road, Kei Rail‘s passenger service will provide a viable alternative to taxis and buses.
A goods and freight service will be introduced in October next year. This service is likely to take some pressure off the N2 main road between the two centres. The road is the busiest in the Border-Kei region and as the main route between the Cape and KwaZulu Natal through the Eastern Cape. It carries an extremely high volume of heavy vehicle traffic.
The re-commissioning of the rail link forms an integral part of the provincial government‘s ambitious ongoing Kei Development Corridor (KDC) project, an initiative instigated by the provincial department of roads and transport to promote economic development in the corridor area between East London and Mthatha.
It is envisaged that the implementation of the Kei Rail project will stimulate development of the KDC by dynamizing economic activities where transport constraints are the primary reason for the unsustainability and unviability of these projects.
It is also aimed at providing an improved transport option for existing economic activities.
Another foreseen benefit is that of providing a general economic catalyst to promote and develop economic initiatives and improvements in social welfare.
Some of the socio-economic benefits identified by the Kei Rail feasability study were the creation of up to 1 500 jobs during initial refurbishment, 28 000 jobs created over a 20-year period and a 10 per cent reduction in total unemployment in the corridor.