Integrated approach slashes rail transit times

Project cargo owners will only
choose rail as an option if it can
deliver cargo on time, reliably and
with as few hiccups as possible.
According
to Kudzanayi
Bangure, project
manager rail
at the Africa
Infrastructure
Desk with the
Nepad Business
Foundation,
this is one of the
lessons learnt in
the rejuvenation
of the North
South railway
linking South Africa to the DRC.
“If we want to be successful
we need to provide a service that
is of such a standard that cargo
owners will choose it over road,”
said Bangure. “There is a lot of
rail development on the continent
and more is coming, but given the
stringent demands that exist to get
the modal balance correct between
road and rail, rail must first be
reliable, safe and efficient.”
He said with increased heavy
haul cargo
moving on road
the networks in
Africa were under
pressure.
“There is
consensus that
all rail-friendly
cargo must be
moved back to
rail. To see the
correct transport
modes being
used we need to
focus on delivering a rail service
that is able to give the cargo owner
exactly what he wants.”
Seamless solutions that were
similar to what he received in the
road environment were a vital
element, he said.
“As regions we
need to ask ourselves
how we can deliver a
reliable competitive
efficient service that
will attract cargo
away from road,” said
Bangure.
“Transnet Freight
Rail is a good example
for the region. They
maximise infrastructure
before they invest in
large-scale infrastructure
developments.”
He said on the North
South Corridor, bringing
rail operators together to plan
and coordinate investment into
infrastructure immediately
improved the service which had
resulted in more and more cargo
being moved to the line.
“When we started on this
product the average turnaround
time of a train between
Durban and the Zambian
copperbelt was around
30 days. It is now moving in
seven days. The integrated and
coordinated approach has delivered
exceptionally good results.”
Bangure said much of the success
achieved on the line was due to
the fact that all the roleplayers had
first set out to see what customers
wanted and then what the project
needed to deliver those solutions.
INSERT
Average turn-around
time of a train between
Durban and the Zambian
Copperbelt has been
reduced from 30 days to
seven.