PRASA AFRO4001
Online auction house WH Auctioneers will, in September, auction off 13 AFRO4000 locomotives that were initially procured for use on the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA’s) long-distance network.
The auction will open on September 1 and close on September 12.
Prospective buyers can view the locomotives, which were produced in 2014 and 2015, by appointment. The locomotives are based at various Shosholoza Meyl depots across the country.
The locomotives originated from a R3.5-billion contract entered into between PRASA and Swifambo Rail Leasing, which is now in liquidation, in 2012, for the supply of 70 AFRO4000 locomotives – 50 diesel and 20 hybrid – manufactured by Spanish company Vossloh España.
However, after the first of the locomotives arrived in South Africa, PRASA found that they were too tall to operate on parts of PRASA’s network.
Swifambo only delivered 13 of the 70 locomotives and received payment of about R2.6-billion.
In 2017, the Gauteng High Court ruled that the contract with Swifambo was invalid and that it should have been awarded to General Electric, which had also submitted a bid.
Swifambo appealed the ruling, however, the Supreme Court of Appeal in November 2018 ruled that Swifambo had to repay the R2.6-billion to PRASA.
Thereafter, Swifambo applied to the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal the Supreme Court ruling, but the Constitutional Court ruled in May this year that Swifambo’s application had no reasonable prospect of success.