Spoornet loco shortage cripples bulk exports

‘Lots of publicity but where’s the action?’ ALAN PEAT A CRITICAL lack of locomotives at Spoornet is holding back a large amount of bulk exports, according to a shipping executive at a major SA bulk exporting company. “This is acting as a serious brake on exports of everything in bulk quantities - from ores and minerals to metals and grain,” he told FTW. He also complained that - although they are spending a lot on press publicity - the railways are just not letting these major exporting groups actually know what is happening on the loco front. “There has been so much talk of Spoornet getting new locomotives and the budget for them,” he said, “but it seems to be mostly promises with no visible action.” Spoornet’s schedule frequencies are still getting less-and-less, and mountains of possible bulk exports are just having to be stockpiled, or remain unmined or not processed. “Things we need to know include: Are these locomotives going out for tender? If so, when will that be, and when will they receive these orders - all of which have a lengthy time between order and delivery? “A lot of us would like to know, because our export potential just cannot be met until Spoornet can increase its delivery frequency.”