Transnet-made coaches are 'brand new'

28 June 2016 - 10:39 By BOBBY JORDAN

Botswana's South African-made trains are brand new - and not refurbished hand-me-downs - a top Transnet official insisted yesterday at a coach "rolling away" ceremony in Cape Town.Thamsanqa Jiyane, Transnet's engineering head of advanced manufacturing, said only the trains' "bogies" - part of the carriages' suspension system - were not brand new, because of a tight six-month delivery deadline that had been agreed upon by all parties."Everything we do ourselves," Jiyane said. "To make these bogies would have taken more than a year. But they last more than 100 years," he said.The parastatal has reportedly leased refurbished bogies at no cost to their client.Transnet was likely to announce two new orders from other African clients, Jiyane said.His comments follow news of a probe into the R250-million coach tender for the delivery of 37 coaches, reported this month.There were no signs of dissatisfaction among Botswana Railways officials at the official handover of eight of the 37 new coaches at Transnet's Salt River facility.Workers cheered and tinsel paper rained down on hundreds of guests as the new coaches were shunted into a warehouse.Jiyane denied reports of technical glitches with the first trains delivered in March. "They've done in excess of 20000km already without any technical glitches," Jiyane said. "Our customer is very, very happy."Justice Ramontsho, operations and engineering director at Botswana Railways, said the new coaches were a "project of national interest", as they had been specifically requested by the Botswana public. The delivery also coincided with the country's 50-year independence celebration.The trains' features include plasma-screen TVs across all coaches, a bar, sleeper coaches, Wi-Fi, high-standard public address audio systems, ablution facilities and air conditioning.This month the Sunday Times reported that Botswana's directorate on corruption and economic crime had confirmed an investigation into allegations of corruption in the coach deal. It said Botswana authorities had become suspicious after the March launch of the luxury passenger service, attended by President Ian Khama, when one of the trains experienced technical problems. Passengers boarded the train, which broke down in Francistown...

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