Road to rail migration 'bearing fruit'

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) was responsible for a 51% contribution to Transnet’s revenue growth over the past six months and the volume growth of 28% in automotive and container business shows that the group’s road to rail migration is “bearing fruit”. That's according to Transnet group chief executive, Brian Molefe, who said the locomotive acquisition programme was on track with 26 Class E 1 SE (out of a scheduled 32) locomotives having been delivered, tested and incorporated into operations on the iron ore line. The remaining six will be delivered in 2014, along with 10 electric locomotives for general freight use. Forty three diesel locomotives have also been acquired and are operational, said Molefe, who was speaking at the announcement of the group’s interim financial results last week. Export coal volumes are up 3%, despite the negative impact of a longer planned maintenance shutdown (20 days instead of the usual 10), lower coal volumes and the closure of the Woestalleen mine, he said. The Shongololo Project, meanwhile, is expected to contribute to further volume growth during the second half of the financial year and boost coal exports. “The newer 200-wagon trains have fewer stoppages and can bypass Ermelo yard leg so the operational performance is enhanced,” said Molefe. He added that there were currently four Shongololo trains running coal exports daily and this would soon increase to seven per day. Iron ore volumes by rail are marginally down by 1.5%, primarily due to production problems experienced by TFR’s major customers. “Low stockpiles, reclaimer problems and late cancellations were experienced at mines which led to a volume drop of around 1.1 million tons,” Molefe said. There was a major drop in on-time arrivals, though on-time departures increased. Planned improvements include the implementation of employee training and locomotive reliability improvements. INSERT & CAPTION Planned improvements include the implementation of employee training and locomotive reliability improvements. – Brian Molefe