Road’s reliability remains its biggest benefit in ongoing attempts to move more cargo to rail.According to Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association, the trucking fraternity has a proven track record.“In Southern Africa you cannot really compare rail to what the road sector provides,” he said, indicating that the ongoing debate about whether cargo should be moved on road or on rail was hollow.
“One can only really have a discussion when rail delivers a reliable, scheduled service. The necessary infrastructure must also be there.”He said ultimately cargo owners made the decision around which mode of transport was used – not associations, governments, truck or railway companies.“If there was a solution available for cargo to be put on a train at the Port of Durban and it arrived in Gauteng three, even six hours later, there would be no boxes on trucks. The fact remains that the only reliable solution for cargo owners to move their containers is road.”
Kelly said to make a case for rail not only did a line need to be developed, but its reliability had to be proved before cargo owners would even consider moving goods from road transport to rail.“It does not really matter how long the line is or what cargo it carries. The transport mode has to be efficient and reliable at all times.”
Also, said Kelly, the last mile argument would never go away. “We simply cannot have a railway line to every single delivery point. Trucks are always going to be responsible for the last-mile delivery.”He said in some cases it made sense for cargo to be transported on rail, particularly bulk commodities over long distances, as far greater tonnages could be moved using less energy and at a lower cost.“At the moment we simply don’t have that type of infrastructure,” he said.
