Combined effort boosts rail volumes

Volumes of some commodities carried by rail to the port of Maputo have almost doubled over the past year as part of a joint strategy by the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC), Mozambican rail operator CFM and Transnet Freight Rail. In 2017 chrome ore and ferrochrome grew by almost 100% (from 411 000 tons in 2016 to almost a million tons in 2017). However, road still accounts for the bulk of the volumes moving through the port, according to MPDC chief executive officer Osório Lucas. “Together with CFM, we continue to work to improve efficiencies and promote a better balance between rail and road freight. “We believe that the various initiatives undertaken in 2017 will have a direct impact on the growth of rail volumes this year,” he says.