Browsing by Author "Kriel, Rudi"

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    Revitalising rail : the case of public-private partnerships
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Kriel, Rudi; Krygsman, Stephan; Conradie, Pieter; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Logistics.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: In response to the degrading state of the national passenger railway service, the President of South Africa recently announced plans to revitalise the service through private sector integration. This study set out to investigate the current financial and economic feasibility of the South African passenger railway service in order to determine the merits of potential private sector integration as a method of railway reform. The study utilised primary data, provided by the Passenger Railway Agency of South Africa (PRASA), as well as publicly available secondary data, to perform an adjusted Cost-Benefit analysis (CBA) wherein both the financial and economic feasibility of the South African passenger railway service were investigated. To this end, the Cape Town Southern line was employed as a case study subject, under which the population growth, modal split, and travel demand were forecast over a 20-year analysis period. While the financial analysis aimed to determine the financial sustainability of the Southern line, the economic analysis explored the feasibility of rail use relative to alternative transport modes, with consideration for the direct and indirect costs of travel. Finally, the analysis determined the effects of private sector participation on both the financial and economic feasibility of the Southern line. The analysis found the existing service to be both financially and economically not feasible. The financial costs associated with each journey on the Southern line were found to far exceed the revenue generated, culminating in considerable fiscal deficits and heavy reliance on government subsidisation. Economically, the Southern line was found to have the highest economic costs per journey out of all modes investigated - largely the result of excessive travel time costs. Through incorporating the possible effects of public-private partnerships (PPPs), the analysis estimates financial and economic savings of R2 billion and R20 billion respectively, in comparison to the base alternative. Even though financial savings occur under private participation, the analysis found that the service would remain dependent on government subsidisation. Economically, however, the Southern line would become viable under private control. Therefore, since PPPs would lead to improvements in financial sustainability, as well as economic feasibility, the conclusion is made that private sector participation is a viable method of passenger railway reform in South Africa.