A woman's touch

The daily testing of trains is a familiar sight at the test track near Midrand. But when a woman was noticed inside a Gautrain driver cab recently, it almost brought the entire test track to a standstill.

The lady firmly behind the control panel was Salome Oliver. In an industry that has traditionally employed men only, the sight of the first woman to drive Gautrain caused quite a stir.

While being trained as an Operations Control Centre manager, Salome had to familiarise herself with the Gautrain driver control panel. As a manager, Salome will be office bound, but in case of an emergency it is vital to know exactly what happens inside a driver’s cab.

The Operations Control Centre will manage integrated closed circuit television networks, security surveillance, automated ticketing, fibre optics, public address systems, passenger information displays, radio and wireless voice communication systems. Each station will also be linked to the central control facility.

In the case of accidents, security threats, power failures or other emergencies, alarm systems will register for the immediate despatching of the necessary safety, repair and rescue services. There is direct communication with all the necessary authorities such as the South African Police Services and the Gauteng Provincial Disaster Management Centre.

The centre will bring commuters the best in global security standards used in rail transport today. The centre will be situated at the train depot near Midrand.