Addressing the Smart Mobility Africa Summit in Johannesburg, Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy said that the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has employed a number of smart solutions to protect its infrastructure following widespread theft and vandalism that brought the once thriving service to its knees during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most notably, Prasa partnered with Chinese tech giant Huawei to employ an intelligent “e-guarding perimeter system” that uses artificial intelligence to alert a central control centre when security breaches or incidents occur within its network.
“This includes a seismic activity tracker which monitors any digging that occurs within the perimeter of rail depots,” the Minister said.
“This means that any attempts at cable theft or similar infrastructure damage is dealt with proactively rather than reactively.”
This comes as Prasa aims to return to its pre-Covid levels of servicing a massive 600 million passengers per annum.
In July, it noted that it had already restored 31 of the 40 priority lines in its network. This allowed Prasa to transport as many as 40 million passengers in the year ended March 2024, reflecting a massive increase of 167% over the year prior.
More to come
Minister Creecy noted that the use of new technologies such as the e-guarding perimeter system cannot only be limited to mass infrastructure projects and macroeconomic policy, and must be used to improve service delivery and the lives of the country’s citizens.
This can be done in a variety of ways, she said, including:
- Automating and digitising truck weighbridges
- E-permitting and licensing for transport operators
- Fully digitising driver’s license testing and vehicle registration
- Using real-time monitoring of the road 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.
Furthermore, the Department of Transport has identified that smart systems can be employed in the country’s integrated transport and logistics planning.
Freight rail entity Transnet has already embraced smart systems through a number of measures and aims to increase its usage of these technologies to further streamline logistics processes.
“Last year, the entity relaunched its Integrated Port Management System (IPMS) as part of its digital transformation strategy,” said Creecy.
“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.”
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.
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