Rail body confident of early meeting with Spoornet executives

Initiative attracts strong industry support ALAN PEAT THE NEW industry body, the Container Rail Operators Forum (CROF), expects to have a meeting with Spoornet senior management early in the new year, according to Peter Lewin, MSC Logistics director, and chairman of the forum. “We have approached Maria Ramos, Transnet CEO; Dolly Mokgatle, Spoornet CEO; and Tshidi Nyama, GM Spoornet inter-modal,” he told FTW, “so that the executive committee of Crof can meet at senior management level to set the forward course for this cross-forum.” The new body – aimed at setting up sound lines of communication between rail contract holders and Spoornet – has attracted a lot of attention, Lewin added. “Since the article appeared in FTW,” he said, “I have been inundated with calls from people who phoned to express their support for Crof.” The early meetings with Spoornet have also been extremely positive, and Lewin suggested that the railways had recognised the value of a two-way interchange of ideas, and had given the concept of the forum their full support and approval. So far, an action plan has been designed to fulfil the strategic objectives of the forum, Lewin told FTW, with a programme of meetings with both Crof members and between the excom and the service providers having been charted. “All this so that we can develop a relationship with Spoornet where both they and the industry will benefit from the results. “From a strategic point of view, it is also necessary that we as an industry should be involved at the inception of new rail developments rather than only being told about them after they have become a fait accompli.” Crof will act as a neutral lobbying platform, providing industry members with a two-way channel of communication with Spoornet.