The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has employed a number of smart solutions to secure their infrastructure with a goal of returning to their pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of 600 million annual passengers.
Addressing the Smart Mobility Africa Summit in Johannesburg, Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy said in order to make sure that no further theft or vandalism occurs on their lines, PRASA has employed a variety of digital solutions to protect its infrastructure as well as its passengers.
“PRASA and Huawei have partnered to employ an intelligent e-guarding perimeter system which uses artificial intelligence to alert a central control centre when there are security breaches or incidents occurring within the system.
“This includes a seismic activity tracker which monitors any digging that occurs within the perimeter of rail depots. This means that any attempts at cable theft or similar infrastructure damage is dealt with proactively rather than reactively,” the Minister said.
Thirty-one of PRASA’s 40 priority lines have re-entered into service after a period of theft and vandalism, with re-signalling of these lines an ongoing project.
“The re-signalling of these lines is a critical undertaking as it ensures the location, the availability and reliability of train services,” Creecy said.
“The use of new technologies in our economy cannot only be limited to mass infrastructure projects and macroeconomic policy. Smart systems need to be used in terms of service delivery to improve the lives of our citizens.
“This can be done in a variety of ways, whether in terms of e-permitting and licensing for transport operators, fully digitising driver’s license testing and vehicle registration, automating and digitising truck weighbridges, and using real-time monitoring of our roads network to avoid congestion and road accidents.
“New technologies can also be used to enhance the security of our communities through CCTV surveillance of our public areas and the use of drone technology to effectively monitor our borders, ensuring the safety of travellers and stopping cross-border illicit trade,” said Creecy.
Smart technology can also be used for integrated transport and logistics planning.
“Transnet has embraced smart systems through a number of measures and aims to harness this technology to further streamline logistics processes.
“Last year, the entity relaunched its integrated Port Management System (IPMS) as part of its digital transformation strategy. The IPMS is a digital vessel management system which allows real-time access to operational information in order to help manage and track freight within the Transnet system. IPMS users are able to make online service requests and see booking slots, in order to avoid over-booking,” the Minister said.
She emphasised the importance of taking advantage of the new technologies and processes available in order to maximise opportunities for economic growth and adequately meet government’s priorities. - SAnews.gov.za
