World class start of the journey

The Banana Express has been closed down by Spoornet on Thursday 20 April 2006 on the grounds that " a lease does not exist". Patons have been running the Banana Express since 14 December 2004.

We were very concerned and disappointed last week Thursday when we heard from the operator of the Banana Express that they had been instructed to cease operating the BANANA EXPRESS by 5pm the same day. Whatever the reason may be, the Tourist Industry sincerely hopes that the powers to be will in great haste do everything that they can to once again, put our train BACK ON TRACK.

The BANANA EXPRESS is without any doubt one of the most sought after tourist attractions on the SOUTH COAST and in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Between 50 to 80% of tourists walking into our local Tourist Centres make enquiries about this SOUTH COAST ICON. Children, mothers, fathers, grandparents and the rest of the family become very excited when they are told about this little narrow gauge steam train, which has brought so much pleasure to millions of tourists from all over the world. Last December alone, close to 10 000 tourists enjoyed this remarkable experience, many International tour operators have produced itineraries which included the BANANA EXPRESS, International photographic tours have been organised, negotiations are underway for a 50 million U S dollar movie to be made about the train, and worst of all, people will loose their jobs.

The South Coast is on an ongoing basis looking for and developing more tourist attractions, we cannot afford to loose any of them. Rail Tourism has become one of South Africa's BIG 5 attractions, and we ALL need to ensure that we don't loose any part of it.

To the people of the SOUTH, this is a BIG blow which we cannot accept.

On the 20 April at 9-00 am Patons received a letter from Woodhead Bigby and Irving Spoornet's attorneys stating " We have been instructed to demand from you as we hereby do that you provide our offices with a written undertaking to cease operating on the /assets by close of buisiness, tomorrow, 20 april 2006, failing which we have been instructed to move eviction proceedings in the appropriate form."

Spoornet does not have an agreement or lease with the municipalities or with Patons and Spoornet " contends that our actions and activities have been illegal and unlawful"

In December Patons received a similar leter but since the leter did not demand that we cease operating and pointed out that Patons did not have a lease and were operating at their own risk and peril, Patons replied that they would only cease operating on written demand to do so from the municipality or Spoornet.

Patons duley notified Spoornet's attorneys in the afternoon of 20 April 2006 that we would cease operating the Banana express. Patons then had the unpleasant task of terminating the employment for 35 members of staff, suspending its brick making black empowerment programme, its steam fitter, driver, and fireman training programme and notifying over 108 passengers who had so far booked for the Saturday train that the train would no longer be running.

On Thursday the narrow-gauge Banana Express on the south coast was closed and last week the Inchanga Choo-Choo was shut down.

The closures have caused outrage in the tourism industry and the steam train fraternity, and is also fuelling rumours as to the possible reasons.

“Is the sudden closure of the operations part of an agenda by Spoornet to derail steam tourism in KwaZulu-Natal, or is it this precursor to the lifting of tracks to be used elsewhere?” asked an irate steam enthusiast.

Of immediate concern to the tourism industry on the south coast is the impact of the closure of the Banana Express.

Speaking in his capacity as the chairman of Hibiscus Tourism, Lood Boshoff said the Banana Express is rapidly evolving into an institution that attracts thousands of tourists every year. “The closure cannot be tolerated as it affects not only the south coast in general, but also individual tourism establishments that benefit from the train,” he said.

The official reason for the Shongweni closure is that new sleepers are needed for a section of the track, while the absence of a formal lease is cited for the Banana Express halt.

Pundits point out that the problems can be easily rectified, but that Spoornet has adopted a seemingly intractable position. They also point out that volunteer teams regularly undertake repairs and maintenance to tracks, mostly at the expense of rail enthusiasts. “It will be so easy to sort out these concerns if the relevant Spoornet officials were interested in making rail tourism work,” a well-known member of the steam fraternity said.

Julian Pereira, CEO of the Paton Country Railways, a Section 21 company that operates the Paton Express at Ixopo, Eshayamoya Express at Creighton, and the Banana Express, said the closures are temporary setbacks in efforts to establish a viably rail tourism industry in the province.

“We believe there is no reason not to sort out the problems, and we are committed to working out a solution,” he said.

Pereira said the sidelining of the Banana Express is threatening 35 direct jobs and will also affect a further 2 000 indirectly supported jobs.

“The train brings an estimated 30 000 visitors to different attractions on the south coast, most of which benefit from the spin-off, and it is this ripple effect we’re worried about,” he said.

Ironically, 197 overseas passengers made the last journey of the Banana Express to underline the potential for rail tourism in KZN. “There are 180 different railway systems in the UK that last year attracted nine million visitors, and we believe we’ll be able to compete in that market,” he said.

On the cards are eight distinct but connected rail routes, with Pietermaritzburg the centrifugal hub, criss-crossing the province. They include the four initiatives currently operating, including the Banana Express, as well as projected routes to Greytown, Kokstad, Matatiele and Richmond.

The potential of the rail project is well understood in government with the Department of Trade and Industry making available a R560 000 Gijima grant to Paton Country Railways. “We’ve managed to unlock about R10 million in secondary spending through the grant that has boosted the local economy substantially,” said Pereira. Part of the beneficiation include the training of professional steam locomotive minders and tradesmen.

In a ground breaking deal PCNGR has taken over the running of the Banana Express in Port Shepstone. The operation will run to Izotsha and will be from the middle of December to end of January.

The lease may be extended on a month to month basis after this period. PCNGR began working on the track at the begining of December before a deal was struck It was felt that it is important to clear the track and spray the vegetation as some time would be needed for the weeds to die. This was undertaken at risk with no guarantee that the line would be leased out and funding supplied by the Ugu and Hibiscus municipalities.

Repairs had to be made to the track and rail crossing some of the bridges replaced. Ex ACR staff have been employed to carry out the work. The track was inspected by Spoornet and declared fit to run trains and on December 11 after 4 months the Banana Express ran again. This brought much needed relief to the tourism sector and staff which had missed the previous holiday season. The Ugu District and Hibiscus municipalities provided the funds to repair and spray the track between Port Shepstone and Izotsha.

Money was also made available to repair the track between Izotsha and Paddock and application has been made to access these funds and carry out the work The lease period has been extended to the end of March.

It is sad to know that preservationists and people generally care so little about our Heritage that they will allow the Banana Express to die. Despite promises and undertakings that the Banana Express would continue running nothing is happening. And slowly more line is stolen, more wagons cut up until one day its too late and this tremendous asset and opportunity to bring wealth to the impoverished areas between Port Shepstone and Harding will be lost. The poorest of poor will suffer so that the wealthy fat cats become more wealthy. That is what is really sad and not the condition of the yard at Port Shepstone or the weed growth along the track nor the corroded track and rotten sleepers.

Repairs to track	Coach Repair and maintenance programme	PCNGR proposal to open the line up to Port Shepstone	Sand derails locomotive on the Banana Express


World class start of the journey	Breath taking no one should be denied this experience	There are few operators other than Alfred County Railway and Patons Country Railway who are able to put an operation such as this together.

The track is well ballasted	There is very little wrong with the track	Bringing wealth to the rural interior. At Izotsha. the Banana Express links with 4 different attractions

Track and sidings neat and tidy	The train brings people to the heart of the rural population. Who has the right to deny the community this?	Track well-maintained and very safe.

Banana Express traveling through Sugar Cane Lands	An NGG16 on one of its many trips to Paddock bringing tourists to one of the many experiences	The busy loco shed at Port Shepstone where skills are transferred to locals

Much restoration work remains to be carried out here	Two NGG 16's - Double header on their way to Paddok