by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE just-concluded 13th annual conference and exhibition of the Southern African Railways Association’s (SARA) showcased how key technological developments will drive the modernisation of the region’s railway industry.
This event brought together transportation ministers from across the SADC, with railway industry leaders and private sector partners like Huawei for discussions about how the region can develop safe, reliable, interconnected and smart rail services that support economic prosperity.
“Modernisation and digitisation are crucial developments that will drive the future growth of Southern Africa’s railway industry,” said Guoyu Wang, Vice President of Huawei’s Smart Transportation Business.
Wang’s speech highlighted key technological developments that will be central to creating interconnected rail services in the bloc.
“Broadband, cloud services and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are increasingly influencing the digitisation of the railway industry,” he said.
At the opening of the conference, SARA Executive Director, Babe Botana, set the agenda for the day.
“Together, we will explore strategies to elevate rail transportation as a driver of sustainable economic growth on the continent.”
Huawei has a long-standing partnership with leading railway partners across SARA operated corridors.
This was further strengthened by a memorandum of understanding to promote efficient and cost-effective ICT solutions to rail operators like Passenger Railway Agency of South Africa (PRASA) whose railway recovery programme has been strengthened by Huawei safety innovations.
Huawei’s Smart Railway Perimeter Detection tools support PRASA’s e-guarding system to precisely detect intrusions through vibration-sensing optical fibres.
Hishaam Emeran, President of SARA and CEO of PRASA, highlighted safety as a central issue as companies in the SARA region endeavour to modernise their railways and create an integrated transport system.
He said the railways must leverage public and private partnerships to build the railways of the future.
Emeran told delegates that PRASA has repaired damage to 31 out of 40 rail corridors and brought them back into operation.
“We must prioritise the development and implementation of robust safety standards and invest in state-of-the-art safety technologies.”
South African Minister of Transport, Barbra Creecy, acknowledged the region’s rail industry was grappling with multiple challenges like a lack of interconnectivity and standardisation.
She called on operators across SADC’s 40 000 km rail network to work together and embrace “the resources at our disposal, especially new smart security technologies, to overcome these obstacles.”
Huawei’s record in supplying ICT solutions to railway and metro customers since, 1996, includes deployment on more than 150 000 km of railway lines around the world.
– CAJ News