When there is an 800-pound gorilla in the room, then the shrewdest response is to make a friend of it rather than taking it on in hand-to-hand combat. That is the approach of TransNamib, which has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and Botswana Rail. In a joint statement released after the singing of an MoU by TransNamib and Botswana Rail in November 2018 the two operators said “this agreement serves as impetus and should bring back life into rail again:
we hope this serves as a starting point to assist the two governments to develop the Trans Kalahari Railway (TKR) project. TransNamib chief executive officer Johny Smith confirms that linking Gauteng to Walvis Bay by rail along the Trans Kalahari corridor is a priority. Plans include the building of
a dry port at Gobabis, which is around 110 km from the Buitepos/Manuno border post, and 604 km from Walvis Bay. There has been an MoU in place with TFR since 2014. In August 2018 a joint statement following a high-level meeting stated that “TFR and TransNamib are working on a renewed and
strengthened partnership in order to position the railway as the preferred mode of transport for bulk freight”. “We have a good working relationship with TFR,” he says, pointing out that TFR as the ninth-biggest rail operator in the world is the dominant force in the region. TransNamib, TFR and Botswana Rail are all members of the Southern African Railways Association, which includes most of the other rail operators in the Southern African Development Community.
Linking Gauteng to Walvis Bay by rail along the Trans Kalahari corridor is a priority. – Johny Smith
