A STRING of calls to FTW from irate Port Elizabeth shippers, decrying what one described as “an utter dearth” of rail wagons in the Windy City area, prompted an investigation of the issue. It was so bad that shippers denounced Transnet Freight Rail (formerly Spoornet), accusing them of forcing their rail cargoes onto the more expensive road transport mode – and effectively cutting previous profit margins to the bone. But, although this shortage of available railway wagons caused two-weeks of grief for rail users, the problem now appears to have been rectified, according to Lawrie Bateman, MD of container rail operators, MSC Logistics. It was a result, he said, of the derailment of two trains on the main Durban-Gauteng line three weeks ago, which jammed up hundreds of rail wagons either side of the line blockage. That was a week’s problem in its own right – with a ripple effect round the country. However, Bateman added, that problem is now past history, and – as far as he knows – trains are now smoothly running in-and-out of Port Elizabeth as before.
