Railway Industry Case Study

A decision must be taken concerning which gauge to use between Cape gauge (1,067 mm) and standard gauge (1,435 mm) in order to build a railway, 80 km long between two cities.

South African Provincial Administration requires an effective and sufficient rail to stimulate economic development and de-congest roadways linking the two cities. A rail has an ability to grow market share and fulfil its rightful role in the transport arena and also for future capacity developments. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails, it affects the train axle load, maximum speeds and stability. Forces are spread over larger surface areas.

The selection of a gauge is due to considering the application in which certain applications

It can operate at higher speeds in excess of 160 km/h and allows for future increments in speeds but because South Africa already has cape gauge as the existing railway gauge, any change of gauge will certainly disconnect the network from its neighbors. The use of standard gauge could be a disadvantage since it not commonly used in South Africa. The other problem that can be faced with using the standard gauge as the preferred gauge is that the gauge will need to first be modified to be suitable to the South African

Rail developments must support and facilitate business imperatives such as operational efficiencies and safety. Insufficient standardization creates increased operational complexity and maintenance costs due to increased stock levels and training requirements. Selective consideration of wider gauge for high axle load (in the case of freight) or high speed (in the case of passengers) applications should be considered where new lines and services are to be introduced, since the benefits could be significant, however it must be noted gauge chosen must stimulate economic development and de-congest the roadways.

Economy of scale goes with series rather than batch production, particularly of rolling stock. This trend is accelerating as mainstream railways further leverage economy of scale by enhancing interoperability. Narrow gauge railways cannot match their pace in this regard, and tend to fall ever further behind.

In my opinion after the evaluation of the two rail systems I think the cape gauge should be used for the project because South Africa already has existing cape gauge railway system so construction will be cheaper since materials from existing infrastructure can be used as long as it serves its intended purpose economically. The overwhelming gauge in Africa as a whole is the cape gauge.