MBABANE – Eswatini Railways has positioned itself to maximise transit rail revenue by cutting cargo transportation time from inland locations to sea ports, ESR acting CEO Amos Mkhatshwa told F T W.“We are part of the North-South Corridor development, from Durban and Richards Bay through Eswatini and then from Komatipoort to Zimbabwe, Zambia and DRC. Eswatini is well positioned between the ports and mines – including major industrial destinations. Most of our business comes from other countries, as transit traffic, and most rail traffic from inland countries or from ports to inland countries goes through Eswatini. Our lines connect the north, east and south. If only we had that western connection, we’d have more traffic from the east as well, because now cargo can’t go through Eswatini to the west which includes the likes of Gauteng,” Mkhatshwa said.The Eswatini rail link project announced in 2012 which had gone through its feasibility study phase was now at pre-funding stage, he pointed out. In partnership with Transnet Freight Rail, Eswatini Railways will upgrade existing rail infrastructure to create a new line through Eswatini from Mpumalanga to the ports of Richards Bay and Durban – and later to Maputo. The route will connect to Eswatini Railways’ rail head in Sidvokodvo east of Manzini, as well as accessing the company ’s Inland Container Depot (dry port) at Matsapha near the country’s central business hub Manzini. The dry port, essential for a landlocked country like Eswatini, has proved instrumental to the growth of the country’s industrial sector. Matsapha is Eswatini’s main manufacturing centre.Longer trains are the heart of rail’s cargo-hauling appeal to clients, and a selling point that keeps rail competitive in a country that imports 90% of its goods and ser vices. “Our trains are ideally 40 cars in length for import/export and average 75 cars for transit trains. Eswatini imports a lot of second hand cars from abroad. These aren’t allowed to touch ground in South Africa, so they remain in containers that are moved from ship directly onto our rail siding and unsealed at our Matsapha dry port which is a port of entry,” Mkhatshwa said.Perishable transport is Eswatini Railways’ next frontier. “The development of a cold chain by Namboard (National Agriculture Marketing Board) is under way. We’ve assured them that our system is geared up for perishable transport. Our engines generate the power for the refrigerated cars which are compatible with that new line of cargo.”
