South Africa’s Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and Caminhos De Ferros De Mocambique (CFM) have announced the extension of their agreement to run trains transporting commodities across the borders of the two countries.
TFR made the announcement on Tuesday that the historic agreement, signed in April 2023, to enable the “seamless operation” of trains between the two countries will be expanded to chrome and ferrochrome flows at three trains per day from September 1.
TFR said that the first phase of trains to Grindrod's Terminal de Carvão da Matola.
Maputo have already yielded a 23% increase in magnetite volumes transported to the country for export.
The improvement in volume had been achieved despite several disruptions on the line, including the closure of the line due to security disruptions and recent derailments.
“This more efficient rail service will improve the train cycle time by approximately 23% and grow volume on rail by approximately 230 000 tonnes, TFR said.
“The successes achieved on this route demonstrate the intrinsic value of meaningful collaboration between the two national railway operators.
“This gives credence to what can be achieved when railway operations are not stifled by disruptions due to incessant cable theft and the shortage of locomotives, as experienced on other major routes to the East Coast supporting the vast Mpumalanga and Limpopo minerals deposits.”
