Gautrain: Water seepage delays introduction

[Steve Appleton]

From Business Day, 13 July 2011:http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/C ... ?id=148226

Water seeping in tunnel delays Gautrain.
Water seeping through the walls of the Gautrain tunnel between Park Station and Rosebank is delaying the introduction of the train service from Johannesburg to Pretoria.

NICKY SMITH
Published: 2011/07/13 06:28:56 AM

WATER seeping through the walls of the Gautrain tunnel between Park Station and Rosebank is delaying the introduction of the train service from Johannesburg to Pretoria.

The Bombela Concession Company, which operates the train, yesterday received a safety permit from the Railway Safety Regulator which confirmed that the Gautrain system was safe for full operation.

The full service of the high-speed train was expected to launch on July 1, but no explanation was given for the delay. The train [presently] operates between Sandton and [Johannesburg's] OR Tambo Airport.

Bombela spokesman Errol Braithwaite said yesterday the company was ready to begin full service operations and "wishes to do so as soon as possible." "Bombela and the Gautrain Management Agency are in discussions to determine when that should be. Additional engineering work to reduce the seepage of groundwater into the southern tunnel section is envisaged and Bombela has already submitted a plan for the implementation of these works. The current level of seepage does not affect the safe operation of trains," Mr Braithwaite said.

Gautrain project spokeswoman Barbara Jensen said the Gauteng government was "still in discussions with the contractor" about addressing "water ingress" in the tunnel that connects Rosebank Station to Park Station in central Johannesburg.

Jack van der Merwe, the Gauteng government’s Gautrain project leader, said the extent to which the water was pushing through the concrete-blasted walls and roof of the tunnel "Is above the specifications for the project. The water is just seeping through. We are not going to be issuing flippers when you board the train," he said.

Final commission dates for the Pretoria to Johannesburg run will be announced next week, Ms Jensen said. "We are not concerned about the delays. With a project of this complexity there are always time overruns. We would rather have a safe system and get the last of the construction completed than worry about delays. We need to look after the sustainability of the project."

[Steve Appleton]

From Business Day, 14 June 2011: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/C ... ?id=148314

Gautrain wants to run despite water leaks
Bombela wants to start running the Gautrain service between Johannesburg and Pretoria while completing the extra engineering work needed to fix water seepage.

NICKY SMITH
Published: 2011/07/14 06:31:44 AM

BOMBELA, the company that operates the Gautrain, wants to start running the service between Johannesburg and Pretoria while completing the extra engineering work needed to fix the water seepage into the tunnel between Park Station and Rosebank.

Bombela wants to begin the service "as soon as possible", Errol Braithwaite, an executive at Bombela, said yesterday, after it received its operating and safety permits from the Railway Safety Regulator on Monday. Mr Braithwaite was unable to say how much the programme of drilling holes in the tunnel walls and shooting in a liquid cementitious grout into the rock fissures to slow the seepage would cost. "I am not sure those sort of numbers have been worked out yet." However, he said the delay in commissioning the train service would compound the cost burden on Bombela.

Earlier this week, Gautrain spokeswoman Barbara Jensen said the province wanted the work on the tunnels completed before allowing the service to start.

In February 2002, the project was scheduled to cost R7bn. Since then the cost has risen more than 270% to about R26bn.

Bombela had submitted plans outlining work needed to slow the rate at which water seeps through the walls and roof of the tunnel to within the limits allowed for in its contract with the province, Mr Braithwaite said. A certain level of water ingress between Rosebank and Park Station had been allowed for. The water is allowed to pass through the linings of the tunnel to relieve an unsafe build-up of hydrostatic pressure outside the tunnel. The 3km route between the two stations has been constructed below the water table. "As with many deep basements in Johannesburg, the Gautrain’s tunnel is designed to allow controlled amounts of groundwater to permeate into its drainage system to relieve external hydrostatic pressures," Mr Braithwaite said. "This water is collected in drains below the track which lead to underground sumps from where the water is pumped to the surface and discharged," he said. Trains can "operate safely" and have been for weeks as the concessionaire has been testing the service to satisfy the Regulator.

[Derek Walker]

Interesting. I bet the acid mine water lobby has been jumping on that bandwagon, It will be interesting to see what happens when we hit JHB's rainy season next year, if we have as much rain next year as we did last then lifeboats may be required unless they sort this problem out.

[Steve Appleton]

From Fin24 website, 18 July 2011: http://www.fin24.com/Companies/TravelAn ... r-20110716

Fears grow over Gautrain water
Jul 18 2011 06:32 Antoinette Slabbert

Pretoria - Millions of litres of groundwater are being pumped out of the Gautrain tunnel in Johannesburg every day, with concerns mounting about the impact on the environment. An environmental impact study due to have been submitted to the department of water affairs in March has still not been received. There are specific concerns about the effect of the lowering of the water table on boreholes and vegetation in the environment and questions are being asked about the soil stability in this built-up part of the city.

According to documents held by Sake24 in January this year the department gave its permission for 7.32m litres of water to be pumped out of the tunnel and dumped into the Sandspruit every day. The Bombela Concession Company, which develops and operates the Gautrain system, as well as the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA), confirmed that the amount of water on which the two parties had agreed is currently being exceeded. Neither, however, answered the question as to how much water is currently being pumped out each day. The department told Sake24 that, according to reports handed to it, 7.8m litres had been pumped out from April to June, but a reliable source reports that the effluent is millions of litres more.

This excess water is delaying the opening of the rail link between Johannesburg and Pretoria. The GMA referred questions to Bombela, which after many days has failed to respond to specific questions from Sake24. But in a statement Bombela did say that the amount of water was within the design capacity of the drainage system.

Impact study

The department however said it would thoroughly investigate exactly how much water was being pumped out. When the department agreed to the extension, Bombela Civil Joint Venture (BCJV), a subcontractor of the concession company, was told to apply for amendment of its water licence by March. This application was to be accompanied by a further environmental impact study and preceded by a process of public participation. The department said no application had yet been received. Public participation has not started.

The wrangling between Bombela and government over who carries responsibility is apparently responsible for the delay. When it had applied to dump water into the Sandspruit, Bombela had indicated that this held no risk to the environment, said the department. But, it added, this was apart from the possible lowering of the water table and a possible impact on lower-lying parts such as Mushroom Farm Park in Sandton. These findings needed however to be confirmed by the outstanding application.

The department went on to say that during construction the water table had dropped considerably around Sandton and Park stations. The new equilibrium would be known only after some years. But, said the department, there had not yet been any negative consequences resulting from the lowered water table.

Golf courses

In January the department had ordered BCJV to monitor the water levels in boreholes along the route and report its findings every six months. If the effect was permanent, measures were to be introduced to mitigate the damage. Vegetation at Mushroom Farm Park was to be monitored every six months as well, and users of groundwater who had suffered damage had to be compensated. Sake24’s source is worried that at least three golf courses in the tunnel’s immediate environment could be damaged.

As far as water quality is concerned, traces of grease and oil have been found in Sandton water.

- Sake24

[Steve Appleton]

From The Star, Johannesburg, July 26 2011. http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/ ... -1.1105831

Water leak delays Gautrain
July 26 2011 at 09:12am
By LOUISE FLANAGAN

It’s late, it’s wet and could take months and a heap of money to fix. An engineer’s plan for sorting out the Gautrain tunnel water problems indicates this could take 10 months and could cost up to R100 million.

This week, officials from the province and the concessionaire dodged requests for comment.

The R28.1 billion high-speed train is a month past its extended starting date of June 28, and there has been a dispute between the province and the concessionaire over the water problem; whose responsibility – and thus expense – it is; and how to fix it. There is no clarity on when the train will be fully operational.

Bombela, which builds and operates the Gautrain and must fix the water problem, said it would wait to make a joint announcement with the province later this week.

The province’s Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) CEO Jack van der Merwe would not discuss the delayed start, saying an announcement would be made tomorrow. “We’re still negotiating with Bombela.”

On Monday, GMA spokeswoman Barbara Jensen would not comment on whether penalties were being levied for the delay. The problem is the seepage and inflow of water into the tunnel between Park station, in the Joburg CBD, and Rosebank.

The Railway Safety Regulator issued a safety compliance certificate for the Gautrain earlier this month. “The water seepage problem is not an immediate threat to the safety of operations,” said Letsane Rathaba, the regulator’s general manager of safety assurance. “It has met the minimum safety requirements.”

However, the water problem means the tunnel does not meet the minimum standards in the concession agreement between Gauteng and Bombela. The agreement states that “there shall be no discernible flow of water through the tunnel lining” and that the tunnel must be sufficiently watertight to ensure the safety of the power supply, the maintenance of the track geometry, and that the hydrological conditions around the tunnel are not disturbed. There may not be more water inflow than 10 litres per minute per 10 metres.

A dispute resolution board recently ordered the Bombela Concession Company (BCC) to do the remedial work.

Bombela’s tunnel remedial works plan, drafted a few weeks ago, identifies the problem area as sections about 1.2km long between Park station and the E1 emergency shaft, and about 1.1km long between the E1 and the E2 shafts. Costs are not listed, but the plan refers to the need for a bond to be provided by Bombela to the province, and suggests R100m. Detailed costs will be worked out after the work is planned, and the plan refers to the need for an estimated price, “including all mark-ups typically provided for on this project by the concessionaire”.

The work involves extra grouting for the tunnel, including boring holes up to 4m deep to inject grout. The plan estimates three months to design and plan the work, then six to eight months to do the work, finishing at the end of May. This assumes that the work will be done after hours, working four or five hours a night, which has been argued over between the province, the BCC and the Bombela Operating Company (BOC), which will operate the finished railway.

The province proposed a phased opening to allow the Gautrain to run between Rosebank and Pretoria, which would involve sealing off the Rosebank-Park station section. The BCC wanted to open the Gautrain fully and do the remedial work after hours. A third option is to run the Gautrain while the remedial work is prepared, then close the relevant section when work starts.

The BOC objected to the after-hours work option. “At the beginning of the trial run, it took four weeks to get rid of the dust present in the tunnel as a result of the works. We therefore believe that dust would become a daily safety issue, as it would be unreasonable to expect that every day the dust generated by the works is taken out of the tunnel at the end of the engineering hours,” it said. The track positions could be affected by nightly work, so would have to be checked every morning.

- The Star