Rail makes slow market share inroads

Despite a lot of talk about moving cargo from road to rail, not much is really happening at ground level. Mike Walwyn, director of Seaboard Maritime Services and chairman of the Cape Port Liaison Forum, says while more cargo is moving on rail now compared to the past few years, it is debatable how much market share rail has gained in real terms. “We have seen a slight increase in the volume of containers on rail, but at the same time the overall volumes being moved has increased, so it could be argued they are moving more containers because there are more containers.” He said in Cape Town the volume of containers moving by rail remained insignificant. “We are talking only about 2 or 3% of the total volume and most of that is for an automotive contract.” Cape Town Terminals manager Brenda Magqwaka earlier told FTW that requests for increased rail capacity at the Cape Town Port remained few and far between with demand for rail very low. According to Dave Watts, maritime director for the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff), the country was not really progressing in its attempt to move cargo from road to rail. “There are various reasons for that, amongst them a very real capacity constraint,” he said. “Rail needs serious infrastructure development.” And, say the experts, a rail strategy developed in conjunction with the industry needs to be in place before any major inroads will be made in the way cargo is moved in South Africa. Government remains committed to easing the country’s dependence on road transport and through its New Growth Path and National Infrastructure Plan has given a clear indication of the ever-growing role of rail. Years of underinvestment is being addressed with Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) investing at least R201 billion in its infrastructure and maintenance over the next few years, while the Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPS) identified by government also have a major rail emphasis. These projects, aimed at upgrading the country’s infrastructure, saw rail specifically identified as a strategic area of development to improve the country’s transport efficiency. Walwyn says this is commendable and the ultimate goal of seeing fewer trucks and more trains is one that should be welcomed across the board by industry. “We should, however, have realistic expectations around it. It is not going to happen quickly.” INSERT & CAPTION We are talking only about 2 or 3% of the total volume and most of that is for an automotive contract. – Mike Walwyn INSERT A rail strategy developed in conjunction with the industry needs to be in place before any major inroads will be made in the way cargo is moved in South Africa.