Confusion surrounds shutdown of Apple Express

LEONARD NEILL THE APPLE Express, the narrow-gauge railway service which has served the fruit industry products from Avontuur in the Eastern Cape to Port Elizabeth harbour, has stopped running. The service’s office has been closed in the city and a recorded message informs callers that the train will not be running in the foreseeable future. But officials of both the Section 21 company in Port Elizabeth which runs the train, and the head office of Spoornet in Johannesburg, believe that this is a temporary measure and that the problem will be sorted out when they meet. Getting the two parties together, however, appears to be a handicap. Lesley Lowe, a Metro councillor in the seaside city and a board member of the operating company, says the offices were closed while awaiting a lease agreement to be negotiated with Spoornet. But the rail utility’s has a different view of the situation. “We have a local manager in Port Elizabeth who can negotiate the lease agreement directly with the operators, says Spoornet’s communications spokesman in Johannesburg, Mike Asefovitz. Perhaps there is a haulage fee rate difficulty which may be the problem.”