Railways Africa Magazine
Railways Africa Magazine
Phillippa Dean
Alstom Sees Signalling and Open Access Driving South Africa’s Next Rail Phase
12 minutes Posted Aug 17, 2026 at 10:38 am.
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At the recent Africa Rail event, Phillippa Dean, Editor of Railways Africa, spoke with Martin Vaujour, President of Alstom’s Africa, Middle East and Central Asia region, about what comes next for South Africa’s passenger and freight rail networks.

The discussion covered Alstom’s established manufacturing and maintenance activities in South Africa before turning to the next phase of rail development. Vaujour identified signalling, maintenance systems, predictive maintenance and digitalisation as areas requiring attention if South Africa is to improve the efficiency and capacity of its existing rail network.

The interview also examined South Africa’s move towards rail open access and the potential implications for freight locomotive demand. Vaujour said new Train Operating Companies were approaching Alstom for additional freight capacity, while the company’s TRAXX production capability remained available as its existing Transnet Freight Rail order approached completion.

Beyond South Africa, the conversation covered Alstom’s activities in Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco and Egypt, including signalling, rolling stock, metro and high-speed rail projects.