Systems to be integrated with other stakeholders RAIL TRANSPORT of containers is about to enter a new era of planned efficiency.
That's the word from CX assistant general manager Harry Mashele who believes that tailored service packages are the way to go. One size doesn't always fit all. Train movements and shunting must be customised to the needs of our customers. To accomplish this, CX is looking beyond stacks at integrating systems with those of other stakeholders in the pipeline.
Mashele explained: A vessel doesn't take 72 hours to reach Durban from its original point of departure. The containers on board will hopefully not have moved en route. So why don't we get to plan for it while the container is on the water, says Mashele.
While the vessel is discharging, if I know how those containers are going to be coming out, and I know where they are destined for, I am prepared for it.
By the time I lift the container I know whether the customer is going to be able to receive it when it hits City Deep. And if the customer is able to receive it immediately we can even plan the time of day it should arrive at City Deep. Containers which are destined for the stacks should arrive at night. But those that need to be delivered urgently should be despatched at night and received during the course of the day so that they can be transferred to trailers and moved to their final destinations immediately.
In essence I would have that information, the client would score, and our planning and anticipation would be as sound as it could be. While Mashele was reluctant to specify any time frame for implementation of the scheme, he said that plans were relatively advanced.
Further information will become available following a meeting of Spoornet, shipping lines, inland haulage operators and other interested parties scheduled for this week.
The idea is to understand the whole pipeline and establish where everyone fits in, says Mashele.
It has been largely motivated and influenced by international models, the port of Felixstowe being one of these.
At Felixstowe as soon as a vessel has registered its intention to berth the customs are able to clear the containers before they hit the quay.
They can, within a 15 minute band, give you an estimated time of arrival of the container for distances much longer than what we have. The ISO-listed Swedish Railways is another very sound system which has provided the inspiration for changes at CX.
By linking our system we will allow the industry to be more cost-effective to the benefit of the customer. This is the thrust of our energy at the moment.
