Rail in South Africa is
improving despite ongoing
scepticism about efficiency
and reliability, says Paul
Cunliffe, managing director
of 4PL.COM Logistics Cape.
A strategic decision to
use more rail is paying off
as the company finds this
mode of transport not only
more cost-effective but also
just as efficient as road
transport.
“We used rail last year to
move our export containers
with citrus and were very
impressed. There were some
issues that had to be sorted
out but for the most part it
was a smooth operation,” he
told FTW.
Cunliffe said with the
company trying to increase
its rail business it made
sense to use rail again this
year for its citrus exports.
“We were extremely
impressed with how the
service has improved
from last year and how
the problems that we
experienced in the first
run had been addressed by
Transnet Freight Rail this
year.”
According to Cunliffe,
a total of 650 export
containers carrying citrus
was moved from Tzaneen to
Durban and Cape Town with
only one incident.
“And the speed with
which TFR addressed
the single incident was
phenomenal. We believe that
we will increase our usage
of rail even more now as
it makes sense to use this
mode of transport for fruit.”
He said not only was
a reasonable cost saving
made per container moved,
but also the fruit was only
handled once – an important
consideration for perishable
cargo.
“Already chilled in the
packhouse, it was handled
once onto rail and moved
to the ports in exactly the
same amount of time that
road would have taken. The
service was efficient and
reliable.”
He said with less of a
paper trail, major time
savings were made in terms
of administration that
ultimately impact on cost.
Cunliffe said the ability
to handle larger volumes at
once – 38 containers were
moved on one train per
week – also contributed to a
more efficient service.
“Rail may have been
inefficient and unreliable,
but we have seen major
improvement in the rail
service in this country.
While more synchronisation
between the various
Transnet divisions will
improve the service even
more, we believe they
have come a long way. I
believe it is also important
for Transnet to look at
having a competent service
provider to facilitate
communication between the
various Transnet entities and
oversee the operations. Rail
in South Africa can work,”
said Cunliffe.
“At present we are looking
at what other cargo can be
moved to rail to increase
this side of our business
even more. We believe that
most of our citrus exports
in future will be on rail. It
makes sense from a cost
and handling perspective
and also the efficiency was
not inferior to road so why
not?”
INSERT
‘Rail may have
been inefficient and
unreliable, but we
have seen major
improvement in the rail
service in this country.’
