Rail group calls for action to revive unused branch lines

Lack of action on the fate of SA’s branch lines in the past has hobbled the growth of provincial businesses and the nation’s agricultural industry, making the issue one of the Railroad Association of South Africa’s priorities as the group commemorates its tenth anniversary year. “Many of the branch lines are closed. If you look at rural branch lines and lines that serve the agricultural sector, over half are out of use,” Allen Jorgensen, media and research officer for the association, told FTW. Since its inception in 2000, the Association has sought to bring solutions regarding transport issues to government attention, but has often encountered apathy, Jorgensen said. “The issue of secondary and branch line railways and what is going to be done about them comes down to this: Who is going to manage the process? “Transnet Freight Rail has recently called for expressions of interest by people or organisations wishing to revive services but we are concerned that an appropriate government regulatory department should drive the process, as TFR should not be both player and referee,” Jorgensen said. “We want local communities and business people to manage; people who have an interest in transport in their areas,” Jorgensen said.