Share

Prasa hit by R1bn loss

Cape Town - The passenger rail agency of south Africa (Prasa) has reported a loss of R1.019bn for the 2010/11 financial year.

Prasa reported a loss of R1.26bn in the previous financial year.

Prasa CEO Lucky Montana told parliament on Thursday that passenger rail did not generate sufficient resources to recapitalise itself.

"Metrorail passengers are generally lower income earners, which makes it difficult to increase ticket prices."

Prasa is the owner of the inter city passenger trains, Metrorail as well as the long distance rail operators, Shoshaloza Meyl.

Prasa also operates Intersite, a property management company and Autopax, which is a national passenger bus service.

Montana said Prasa struggled with the high cost of operating an old railway system with rolling stock older than 40 years on average.

He said the agency suffered a serious decline in rolling stock availability and reliability in the past year.

"The result was a decline in passenger trips from 633 million in 2009/10 to 471 million in the past year."

He however, said the group remains positive, albeit with a number of challenges.

"We have started rolling out our recapitalisation programme as well as implementing a new signalling system. These projects will take a number of years to complete."

 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.89
+0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.44
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
908.75
+1.3%
Palladium
1,014.28
+1.3%
Gold
2,219.42
+1.1%
Silver
24.83
+0.8%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders