The government has launched a series of requests for information (RFI) to attract private sector ideas and investment aimed at modernising South Africa’s passenger rail system.
Transport minister Barbara Creecy announced the initiative in Pretoria on Sunday, describing it as a key step in making rail the backbone of the country’s transport and logistics network.
“Today we announce another important milestone in our collective journey to make rail the cornerstone of our national transport and logistics system. We are releasing requests for information for potential private partners interested in investing in our passenger rail system,” Creecy said.
By the end of May, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) had commissioned 35 of its 40 passenger corridors and recorded 77-million audited passenger journeys for the year. Creecy said additional investment from the private sector was needed to sustain this progress and expand services.
The RFI process will help Prasa gather information and innovative solutions to guide future requests for proposals (RFPs) for private investment. She said areas of focus included fare collection systems, depot management, commercial use of Prasa’s fibre-optic network and new ideas for long-distance regional rail services.
Among the projects outlined is a smart ticketing system that would allow passengers to use a single tap-and-go ticket across trains, buses and taxis. The department also plans to upgrade Prasa’s major train depots in Braamfontein, Johannesburg and Wolmerton in Pretoria to improve maintenance and reliability through private partnerships.
Other projects include commercialising Prasa’s fibre-optic network to enhance digital connectivity and safety across the rail system and introducing regional rapid train routes linking cities such as Pretoria, Johannesburg, Polokwane, Musina, Mbombela and Durban. Further plans include exploring a 300km/h high-speed rail link between Johannesburg and Durban.
Creecy said the RFIs were not tenders, but an invitation for the market to contribute ideas and help design the future of rail transport in South Africa.
“The rail and port freight RFI process is part of our broader freight logistics roadmap, which seeks to restore efficiency, reliability and competitiveness in the movement of goods across our economy. It also reflects the government’s commitment to implementing the National Rail Policy (2022), the National Ports Policy and the Private Sector Participation Framework (2023), all of which recognise the critical role of partnerships with the private sector in revitalising our transport infrastructure,” she said.
To improve passenger rail performance, Creecy said the government has set a target of achieving 600-million passenger journeys per year by 2030.
“We are eager to partner with the private sector to realise this target, setting us on course to build a 21st century transport system that transcends mobility challenges to strengthen industrial competitiveness, deepen regional integration, and drive inclusive economic growth,” she said.
Creecy said her department has concluded a memorandum of agreement with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the National Treasury, appointing DBSA as the implementing agent on behalf of the department of transport for the Public Sector Partnership (PSP) unit.
“The PSP unit is in the process of being capacitated and will be ready to commence with the conceptualisation of bid windows and development of request for proposals.”
On March 23, the department launched the first phase of online RFIs to interested and affected parties in the Transnet rail and port freight logistics sector.
The first RFI phase closed on May 30 and the department received 162 formal responses with 52 respondents being from 12 countries.
After the process, Creecy said Transnet will issue the first RFP before the end of 2025 and three more RFPs in the first half of 2026.
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