2022 rail link already wooing cargo owners

MAPUTO – Mozambique’s main port at Maputo is gearing up for new cargo volumes arriving from Gauteng via Swaziland.  The Lothair, Mpumalanga to Sidvokodvo Swaziland rail link is scheduled for completion in 2022, according to Transnet Freight Rail (TRF), which is partnering with Swaziland Railway on the project.

“We are marketing the port to new rail customers,” said Ilidio Matola, director of strategic planning and business development for Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Mocambique (CFM), the public company that runs Mozambique’s rail and ports systems.

Matola was speaking to stakeholders and potential customers at a rail conference in Ezulwini, Swaziland co-sponsored by the European Union and Swaziland Railway earlier this week.

In order to induce Gauteng shippers to use the Port of Maputo by taking advantage of the new shorter rail line through Swaziland when it opens in five years’ time, CFM’s strategy is to advise them of rail’s advantages.

“ In terms of fuel consumption trains are 3.5 times more efficient than trucks because there is less air resistance and friction moving along rails compared to truck tyres against road surfaces. Close spacing of train cars also increases aero-dynamic efficiency,” Matola said.

CFM’s ongoing infrastructure work at Maputo’s port will also be at an advanced stage when the first Lothair-link trains roll in, he said.