The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has issued a request for proposals for the appointment of a service provider to conduct a comprehensive detailed line-scanning survey on the 1 404 km rail container corridor between City Deep in Gauteng and the Port of Durban.
The call, issued on behalf of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), aims to find private-sector specialists to audit the rail corridor’s state of disrepair to asses where to prioritise investments.
IDC and ISA have identified the corridor as the “lifeblood” of both the Durban and Gauteng economy as Transnet seeks to shift freight from roads, which currently move around 85% of goods across the country.
“The container corridor (ConCor) is the backbone of South Africa’s overall rail freight network. It connects and interfaces with the North Corridor, Cape Corridor and Central Corridor. This Corridor is a critical logistics enabler for South Africa's import and export freight transportation, as well as a key contributor to the country's economic growth,” the RFP document states.
The corridor connects the Port of Durban to Gauteng’s inland terminals, including City Deep, Kascon, Pretcon and Kaalfontein as well as to private sidings throughout the province. It is also crucial for the running of coal trains for Eskom and Glencoe.
However, according to the RFP document, freight volumes on the corridor have declined significantly, from 12.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2017/18 to 6.7 mtpa in 2024/25, with revenue dropping from R2.6 billion to R1.3 billion. It highlights contributing factors, including locomotive and spare parts shortages, cable theft and vandalism, and general infrastructure degradation that has led to increased derailments and reduced capacity.
The RPF calls for a bidder to perform a non-destructive survey assessing both above-ground assets (rails, sleepers, drainage ditches, and earthworks) and below-ground components (ballast, sub-ballast layers, and track formation). The scope covers the full double-line route and includes mobilisation to City Deep, surveying to Durban, data processing, analysis and actionable work-order recommendations.
Technologies to be incorporated include Impulse Ground Penetrating Radar, line scan cameras, Inertial Measurement Units and positioning systems.
Key deliverables encompass multiple condition assessment reports, an asset map, desktop viewing software with training and support for five Transnet officials, and a final project close-out presentation.
“The surveying system shall be a rugged, integrated unit incorporating all required cameras and sensor technologies within a single platform,” the RFP specifies.
The IDC emphasised the strategic importance of the survey project as “a significant step towards addressing the ongoing issues of track degradation”.
“It will provide stakeholders with a baseline of the current state of repair of the track … This evidence will allow stakeholders to make informed decisions when planning essential maintenance work,” it said in the RFP document.
The assignment must be completed within 12 months from the start of scanning.
According to the RFP, the tender closes on May 22. The document can be accessed here.
