Technical support and spares supply agreement
In addition to its contract with the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa for the supply of 600 new commuter trains over a 10 year period, Gibela has a 19-year technical support and spares supply agreement (TSSSA) with the agency.
In terms of this agreement, as its name implies, Gibela will provide support to the 600-train fleet over 5 depots for a period of 19 years (2016-2035). The scope of work includes:
Technical support and full material management
Level 4 maintenance (overhaul of the trains in 3 repair centres)
Performance commitments in fleet reliability (continuation of MSA) for the new trains
Ultimately, the TSSSA will have a national footprint, with facilities in the south and north of Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Gauteng North & South depot - Wolmerton and Braamfontein depots
Here, a range of functions are in place in support of the new trains already in service in the province:
Warranty and corrective maintenance
Retrofit and field modifications
Materials management
Performance monitoring and continuous improvement
Fleet reliability growth
Reliability, availability, maintainability and safety studies
Technical support, including a helpdesk, field assistance and training
Coastal Services Depots - Cape Town and Durban
The Cape Town depot began operating in 2019 with the deployment of 2 new train sets in the Mother City by PRASA. Currently, over 76train sets are running.
The Durban depot began operating mid-2020 with 2 train sets deployed in the city by PRASA. Currently, over 71 trains sets are running.
At the Midrand Repair Centre, the focus is on:
- Project administration
- Supply chain, involving material requirement planning and procurement
- Central warehousing for maintenance, warranty and retrofit
- Capital spares dynamic storage
- Maintenance engineering (equipment)
- Industrial engineering (methods)
Training and development
Around 150 people are already employed full time in various operational functions of the TSSSA, more than half of them women.
As is the case elsewhere within Gibela, extensive attention is paid to employee training and development in this part of the business.
Our progress
More than a million kilometres of cumulative mileage have been reached since the start of the trains’ commercial operations in Pretoria North.