Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe

[Steve Appleton]

Some good news to share around for a change. The following is an extract from premier Helen Zille's state of the province address, May 29, 2009.
"And, to further encourage tourism in the Southern regions of the province, we will find innovative ways to get the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe (the last scheduled steam-train in the world) back on track. We will do so by involving business in investment for the train and other tourism related attractions in the area."

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Good news - if there is follow through. Hopefully there will be.

[Dylan Knott]

http://www.ewn.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=14567

They say the choo-choo is vital for the economy. Great then all the other preservation groups can only add to this!

[Dylan Knott]

http://www.ewn.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=14615

Now they are calling for a Public, Private Partnership. Good idea, but very time consuming. Why could this not have been determined in the first place?

[Justin Miles]

http://www.theherald.co.za/gardenroute/ ... ?id=429131

PRIVATE investors could soon be invited into negotiations regarding the future of the iconic Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe train.

Western Cape Finance, Tourism and Economic Development MEC Alan Winde said yesterday he was in advanced talks with Transnet and hoped to get finality on the issue soon.

He said he would invite expressions of interest from the private sector.

George MPL Marius Swart told a press conference that private investors would be invited to tender for the Choo- Tjoe in the next three weeks.

However, Winde said he would first like to call for expressions of interest before calling for tenders.

“We need to convince Transnet of a public-private partnership. We should not dictate, but rather facilitate and ask business people to come up with viable propositions and see what happens.”

Winde said part of the negotiation with Transnet entailed making the two business studies paid for by government available to the public.

“We want the go-ahead from Transnet to make the studies public. Then the documents can be used by anybody who wants to use them in making a business plan.”

Winde agreed with Transnet‘s decision to get back to core business. “Why should they keep going? They are losing money and at the end of the day none of the routes are viable as they stand.”

He suggested that investors and interested parties come up with suggestions that could include plans to run part of the line from Knysna to George, George to Mossel Bay or to the George Airport. Job creation projects and “added-value” proposals such as hiking and biking trails could also be considered.

“There is a lot at stake as there is the repair of the line (Knysna to George) to consider, fixing up rolling stock and maintaining the lines, which have deteriorated.”

He said he would like to see expressions of interest from a broad spectrum of parties which could ultimately lead to a collaborative effort from various entrepreneurs working together to make the Choo-Tjoe viable.

According to Swart, interest had been from expressed by the Waterval Boven Steam Train Society, which runs a successful private line in Mpumalanga, while two Southern Cape businessmen, Lynn Schroeder and Sal Marsilio, have offered their expertise in facilitating the public-private partnership.

“There are several people interested in investing in the Choo-Tjoe, including the operators of the steam train running in the Waterval Boven area, which is profitable and has the backing of the local population,” Swart said.

Although Schroeder and Marsilio are retired, they said they would use their expertise to lobby for support from the business sector. “We need to get business and financial projections as soon as possible,” Schroeder said.

Another possible investor is African Power Technologies, which is exploring a multimillion-rand foreign-funded waste gasification plant in the Southern Cape.

Chief executive Jan Vingerhoets said part of the proposal to Eden District Municipality was to help fund the repair of the line between Knysna and George. The rail line could then be used to transport waste to the gasification plant.

The line was damaged in landslides at Kaaimans Pass during floods in 2006 and estimates for repairing the line and refurbishing the coaches put the cost at R130-million.

[Steve Appleton]

Article on O-C-T in The Weekender 6 June 2009. (PDF 216KB).

BD06_06_2009_ed01_BD Weekend Review_pg007.pdf

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