ZCC needs a pilgrim train

THIS year’s October Transport month has been eclipsed by local government electioneering with a view to re-engineering the derelict municipalities.

Political leaders are engrossed in promising their supporters services such as uninterrupted electricity supply, clean water and the filling up of gaping potholes in our streets, but there is no mention of a sustainable transport system to address the historic spatial planning system and to carve out an integrated transport planning trajectory in South Africa.

A sustainable transport system is defined by the Canadian Centre for Sustainable Transportation as a system that allows basic needs of individuals and society to be met safely in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and with equity in and between generations.

With the theft and vandalism of the railway infrastructure and the vehicle-centric transport planning approach, the commuters are deprived of an intermodal transport system where all modes of transport work harmoniously for their collective good.

The Covid-19 pandemic will soon be a thing of the past, and we should prepare for the post-Covid-19 sustainable transport system in South Africa. The Zion Christian Church’s (ZCC) Easter weekend traffic to Moria would still be an albatross around our necks if we did not use this Transport Month to plan for the future.

The ground has been made fertile for South Africa to move from the vehicle-centric transport planning approach to intermodalism.

The ZCC is experiencing an exponential growth in worldwide membership. In his 2014 Easter sermon at Moria, Bishop BE Lekganyane noted the growth of the church in these words: “Today it gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the presence of our representatives from Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.”

Traffic congestion is inevitable during the ZCC Easter weekend pilgrimage.

The US Department of Transport’s Federation Administration noted that: “Transportation congestion usually relates to an excess of vehicles on a portion of roadway at a particular time, resulting in slower speeds, sometimes much slower, than normal or free from speed.”

The volume of traffic on our roads has been compounded by the fact that car ownership has passed the 12% compound annual growth rate, as people plan their lives around cars.

The Saudi Arabian government has adopted a proactive approach to transport planning. The government spent billions of dollars to construct the 18km Mashir railway line. The Chinese-built monorail links Mecca with holy sites at Mina, Mount Arafat and Muzdalifah whereon 20 trains offer a capacity of 3 500 pilgrims per trip, or a total of 72 000 pilgrims per hour, or 377 000 pilgrims from Mecca in six hours, then on to Arafat.

Mecca has built 20 passenger platforms on site, with the following specifications: each for the length of 20 coaches, where each coach could temporarily be connected to a water inlet, electricity socket and sewerage outlet to maintain passenger comfort on each trip, incidentally relieving pressure on site facilities.

At night, the coaches serve as accommodation for the pilgrims.

A ZCC pilgrim train could resuscitate railway transport in South Africa and create more permanent jobs because Zion City Moria is buzzing with pilgrims throughout the year.