A magnetite transport train – that has been tested as part of a pilot project on the Ressano Garcia railway since 1 April – has made it possible to reduce the number of trucks that arrive daily at the port of Maputo, said Mozambique’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Carlos Mesquita.
The train – consisting of 75 wagons of 60 tonnes each and carrying 4 500 tonnes of magnetite per trip – “is not only contributing to reducing congestion of National Road Number Four (EN4), but also improves the logistics chain,” said Mesquita.
The introduction of this train, which links South Africa to the port of Maputo along the Ressano Garcia line, has to date reduced the number of trucks on the EN4 by at least 140 per day and 700 per week in one direction.
By the end of the year the port of Maputo is expected to receive about 4 million tonnes of magnetite from the Ressano Garcia line, reversing the current situation where most of the processed cargo is transported by road.
