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Leonard Ncube recently in Dete

THE National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) urgently needs to upgrade its signal control system to enhance improved operations and meet customer service expectations.

The railway company is currently using a manual signal control system, which is more than 50 years old with train drivers being required to complete forms when they get to a siding and wait for signal from the central control room before proceeding.

The railway firm also needs modern locomotives fitted with digital control systems that drivers can use to signal the control room.

The company’s ‘newest locomotive’ a D11 model, is more than 30 years old while others are more than 50 years old, and all are prone to constant breakdowns, thereby, affecting operations and revenue inflows.

This emerged during a recent tour of the NRZ Dete Station by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona, where management expressed a desperate need for recapitalisation to boost service efficiency.

This comes as the Government is in the process of engaging partners for NRZ rehabilitation and recently hosted a delegation from DP World in Dubai in Harare, which has shown interest in helping revamp the ailing company.

The minister’s Dete visit was meant to enhance appreciation of the facility and to take note of areas that need rehabilitation.

He was accompanied by NRZ board chair, Advocate Martin Dinha and NRZ regional manager for southern region, Mrs Ainah Kaguru.

During the tour, the visiting delegation saw a locomotive with about 20 wagons carrying coal that was destined for Bulawayo parked at the Dete station after a breakdown four days ago.

Mrs Kaguru said the locomotive burnt traction motors, which were overwhelmed by age and load.

She told the minister that NRZ’s greatest need was to procure new locomotives and wagons fit for export business as well as fixing the poor signal control system.

“We have got a signal panel that we use for control and what remains is a signal for the station only as we are not able to move to the main line signals,” said Mrs Kaguru.

“We have to improvise a method that we call integrated train control system of mixing manual and a bit of technology.

We are using forms to move our trains from one siding to the next where drivers park at one siding and wait for an instruction to move to the next.”

She said NRZ needs a modern centralised control system that allows engineers to signal trains from the control room connecting to digital systems in the locomotives.

NRZ mainly transports coal and coke from Hwange for export and needs to modernise to regional standards.

Most wagons and locomotives have outlived their lifespan and as a result trains move slowly, sometimes at 10km per hour while pulling heavy loads, which results in breakdowns of traction motors, said Mrs Kaguru.

“We need wagons that are very sound.

What we have now needs attention all the way.

Sometimes we just move 100km and there is a red-crossed wagon that needs fixing. Instead of quick turnover we take time fixing wagons and losing business,” she said.

“At the moment we are using manual systems and we really need to be recapitalised so that we won’t have drivers writing on forms what they have to do when they get to the particular siding because everything will be in the locomotive.

“We need to replace the signaling system together with the locomotives.

As we speak, we had coal that we were taking to Bulawayo and the locomotive failed here.

It will take time to reach the customers and so we are failing to do what is required by industry.”

Minister Mhona said DP World first visited the country in March and came back recently to implement the partnership.

“The purpose of the visit is to ascertain the nature of our rail infrastructure and today (last Thursday) we are here to say what we can offer to the Dubai delegation as we want to move with speed,” he said.

“As a nation we have vast infrastructure and opportunities in transportation of tourist activities in terms of pottery that NRZ was transporting and now they are seized with coal.

So, DP World are saying let’s move with speed in terms of rehabilitation of locomotives, which will enhance ease of doing business as we also synchronise trade and tourism.” — @ncubeleon