Only 26.9% of those polled
in the FTW Durban/
Richards survey said they
made use of rail on the
Durban-Gauteng corridor with most
citing improved reliability, speed
and efficiency as reasons they would
consider switching to rail.
A senior Transnet official, who
did not want his name mentioned,
pointed out that Transnet Freight
Rail had introduced an express train
recently while an operations manager
for a shipping line said that he used
rail to relocate empty containers to
the coast.
Gerald Naidu of South African
Inland Logistics was one of several
respondents who said they used rail
in cases where the client wasn’t in a
hurry for the cargo and the delayed
delivery could be offset by a reduction
in cost.
Yet despite issues such as
congestion, expensive toll roads,
unroadworthy vehicles, drunk
drivers, road blocks, corruption by
traffic officials and a lack of proper
policing on the N3 highway, 73% of
cargo owners and transport operators
still do not use rail as an option.
