{"id":65572,"date":"2022-09-24T14:57:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T14:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters"},"modified":"2022-09-24T15:08:34","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T15:08:34","slug":"s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters","title":{"rendered":"S.Africa teens build solar train as power cuts haunt commuters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Tanzania. <\/strong><\/span>For years, students in a South African township have seen their parents struggle to use trains for daily commutes, the railways frequently hobbled by power outages and cable thefts.<\/p>\n

To respond to the crisis, a group of 20 teenagers invented South Africa’s first fully solar-powered train.<\/p>\n

Photovoltaic panels fitted to the roof, the angular blue-and-white test train moves on an 18-metre-long (60 feet) test track in Soshanguve township north of the capital Pretoria.<\/p>\n

Trains are the cheapest mode of transport in South Africa, used mostly by the poor and working class.<\/p>\n

“Our parents… no longer use trains (because of) cable theft… and load shedding,” said Ronnie Masindi, 18, referring to rolling blackouts caused by failures at old and poorly maintained coal-powered plants.<\/p>\n

The state power company Eskom started imposing on-and-off power rationing 15 years ago to prevent a total national blackout.<\/p>\n

The power outages, known locally as load-shedding, have worsened over the years disrupting commerce and industry, including rail services.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure operator Transnet has struggled to keep rail traffic flowing smoothly since the economic challenges of the pandemic fuelled a surge in cable theft.<\/p>\n

By 2020, rail use among public transport users was down almost two-thirds compared to 2013, according to the National Households Travel Survey with many commuters turning to more expensive minibus taxis.<\/p>\n

Masindi said they decided to “create and build a solar-powered train that uses solar to move instead of (mains) electricity”.<\/p>\n

The journey has not been without its challenges.<\/p>\n

A lack of funding delayed production of the prototype locomotive, and the government later chipped in.<\/p>\n

“It was not a straight line,” said another student, Lethabo Nkadimeng, 17. “It was like taking a hike to the highest peak of the mountain.”<\/p>\n

The train, which can run at 30 kilometres (20 miles) per hour, was showcased at a recent universities innovation event.<\/p>\n

For now, the prototype can run for 10 return trips on the track installed on the grounds of a school.<\/p>\n

It will be used for further research, and eventually presented as a model the government could adopt.<\/p>\n

Fitted with car seats and a flat-screen TV to entertain passengers, it took the students two years to build.<\/p>\n

“What we have realised is, if we you give township learners space, resources and a little mentorship they can do anything that any learner can do around the world,” said Kgomotso Maimane, the project’s supervising teacher.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Tanzania<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Tanzania. For years, students in a South African township have seen their parents struggle to use trains for daily commutes, the railways frequently hobbled by power outages and cable thefts. To respond to the crisis, a group of 20 teenagers invented South Africa’s first fully solar-powered train. Photovoltaic panels fitted to the roof, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":65571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,9,16],"tags":[6990,6991,8658,8659,8660,711],"class_list":["post-65572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-miscellaneous","category-twitter","tag-africa-press-2","tag-africa-press-tanzania","tag-solar-power","tag-sustainable-innovation","tag-sustainable-technology","tag-tanzania"],"yoast_head":"\nS.Africa teens build solar train as power cuts haunt commuters - Tanzania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For years, students in a South African township have seen their parents struggle to use trains for daily commutes, the r ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"S.Africa teens build solar train as power cuts haunt commuters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For years, students in a South African township have seen their parents struggle to use trains for daily commutes, the r ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tanzania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-24T14:57:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-24T15:08:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/sites\/17\/2022\/09\/postQueueImg_3-632f1d52b4331.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"S.Africa teens build solar train as power cuts haunt commuters\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-24T14:57:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-24T15:08:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters\"},\"wordCount\":411,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/sites\/17\/2022\/09\/postQueueImg_3-632f1d52b4331.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Tanzania\",\"solar power\",\"Sustainable innovation\",\"Sustainable technology\",\"tanzania\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"miscellaneous\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/s-africa-teens-build-solar-train-as-power-cuts-haunt-commuters\",\"name\":\"S.Africa teens build solar train as power cuts haunt commuters - 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