GEORGE NEWS - Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) at this stage does not want to comment on a proposal submitted in March by Cape Town Cycle Tour co-founder John Stegmann for the transformation of the George-Knysna railway into a cycleway.

George Herald recently published an article on Stegmann's proposal and a petition he launched on change.org which has received thousands of signatures in support of the idea. He submitted his proposal to Transnet in March.

Earlier, in February, Transnet confirmed to the newspaper that a tender process for the restoration and operation of the railway line was underway. The technical evaluation of bids had been completed and the governance processes were being finalised.

Responding to a follow-up query earlier in May, TFR said it is in the process of finalising the procurement process. It is at an advanced stage and has undergone a number of governance approvals. "It is currently at the bid negotiation stage. We anticipate to have this process concluded by this quarter."

Regarding the cycleway proposal, TFR said, "Governance rules do not allow us to communicate with anyone about pending or open procurement events. TFR can only communicate with the parties after the process has been concluded."

George Mayor Leon van Wyk in his February monthly newsletter wrote that Transnet had indicated to the municipality that they were developing new business models "that included the issue of concessions to operate trains on the rail network".

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