A total of 257 trains were stuck on Transnet’s rail network when union members went on strike recently, but the utility has already managed to clear 234 “staged locos” in its efforts to restore operations.
The remaining 23 stationary trains that have not yet been moved to clear the entire system are all between the Mooi- and Lions River section of the Container Line (CL), a cable theft hotspot and major headache for Transnet Freight Rail (TFR).
Speaking at a media presentation about TFR’s recovery process in the aftermath of the strike, CL managing executive Rudzani Ligege said they had only managed to move about five ‘staged locos’ – the term for a stationary train – since the strike had ended.
The primary reason for setbacks experienced in unblocking the section between Mooi- and Lions River, Ligege said, was because of “continuing cable theft”.
“It has really impacted us and we haven’t been able to run our trains successfully.”
During the strike, he said at least 12 kilometres of cable had been stolen from this section, and since the strike had ended there had been at least three to four incidents of criminal interference with the section of the CL.
He said although TFR was still in the dark about why the Mooi-Lions stretch of the corridor was such a problematic area for crime, it had been established that 55% of cable theft that hampered rail movement in Transnet’s entire system happened on this stretch of the line.
The escalation of crime during the strike dominated questions posed to TFR after its formal presentation, and the logistics utility was hard-pressed to address the perception that the parastatal was overwhelmed by crippling problems such as cable theft.
Marius Bennett, general manager for security and forensics at TFR, said it was not true that they sat back while knowing full well that South Africa’s rail network might be exposed to additional risk.
He said it was anticipated that there would be an escalation of criminal attacks on TFR’s network, especially on the CL.
“We put in a lot of additional resources to make sure that we were able to deal with not just picketing and the strike. However, in this specific area, cable theft has gone up and we have increased our drone security.”
Stepped-up efforts to combat crime on the CL between Mooi- and Lions River include aerial surveillance by chopper, beefed-up security, task teams, observation posts, and closer cooperation with the South African Police Service.
Intensified security operations in the area have so far resulted in an 18% reduction in cable theft and a 32% reduction in the length of cable stolen.
Bennett said almost every day arrests were made, including that of an underground kingpin.
“We are putting in a lot of effort to close in on syndicate crime and close down the market,” he said.
