'No shortage of rail wagons on Natcor'

There is no shortage
of rail wagons on the
Durban-Gauteng corridor.
That’s according to
senior account executive
in TFR’s container and
automotive business
unit, Bilqees Essa, who
told FTW last week that
sufficient wagons had
been ring-fenced on that
corridor.
Any shortage of rail
wagons would be the
result of a derailment or
an issue beyond TFR’s
control like the recent
truckers’ strike.
“When you run a rail
service, the departing
train is the resource of
the incoming train,”
executive manager in
TFR’s intermodal business
unit, Wiseman Madinane,
explained.
“If there’s a derailment
or train cancellation at
either end the train will
not arrive.
“Which is why the
recent truckers’ strike
impacted TFR so severely.
We couldn’t get the boxes
into the terminal which
led to an imbalance in the
number of wagons coming
down to supply loads
coming up.”
Another factor to
consider is the train
configurations, said Essa.
“At Pier 1 you can run
75-wagon trains and at
Pier 2,50-wagon trains,
but at Maydon Wharf
it’s not as easy to shunt
as at DCT. It can take 20
wagons at a time – so you
might have the wagons
but to place that number
of TEUs will take three to
four shunts.
“So while there may be
a perception that there’s
a shortage of wagons,
it’s not the case – it’s all
about communication
and understanding as an
industry,” said Essa.