Multibillion-rand revamp for Cape Town station
February 6, 2007
By Ronnie Morris
Cape Town - The Cape Town railway station complex, completed in 1961 in line with apartheid planning and covering between 25 and 35 city blocks, will undergo a multibillion-rand redevelopment over several years.
The project is a joint initiative between SA Rail Commuter Corporation-Metrorail and Intersite, the property management company.
Project manager Ian Scott said yesterday that the project started 18 months ago and had gone through an extensive process of obtaining proposals from professionals, with the result that a team was appointed in September last year.
The role of the station had to be reassessed in the light of the decision to merge the SA Rail Commuter Corporation with Metrorail and thereafter with Shosoloza Meyl. That has implications for Cape Town station in terms of the metropolitan rail system, the growth of the regional rail system and the national railway lines between Cape Town and other major cities. Another aspect that had to be considered was that an airport link might have to be installed.
Scott said the role of the station had to be rethought with the city, the province, the Cape Town Partnership and the community. The redevelopment could not be done in less than 10 years.
"There are major developments happening on the periphery of the station and we are considering how the station could be integrated so that it becomes a 24/7, 365-day accessible space with ongoing activities.
"It must not become a dead space, but part of the regeneration of the city. We need to look at the better integration of the [adjacent] Grand Parade and the station,'' said Scott.
Lindelo Matya, Intersite's regional manager, said that R95 million has been allocated to initiate the project. When the extent of the development had been determined, a sense of the costs would emerge, but it was likely that private funding would be sought. The project would run into many billions of rands.
The immediate emphasis was on improving the look and feel as well as commuter comfort, with better access, information, safety and security ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup. But Matya said there would be no structural changes to the station complex for 2010.
Scott said no final decisions had been made. Stakeholders would be consulted in the next two to three weeks.
Albert Schuitmaker, the executive director of the Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the redevelopment, saying it would attract more business into Cape Town's central business district and, if properly done, would add to the beauty of the city.
"If the station and the area where commuters arrive improve, it might also be an incentive for commuters to go by rail instead of by car."
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