Swazi rail hints at more capacity

MBABANE – For Swaziland,
the port of Durban remains
a major sea transport hub for
imports and exports conveyed by
rail. Swaziland Railway has plans to
increase train capacity to cater for
migration of cargo from road to rail
and to further reduce transit time to
the port. Increasing train lengths and
the carrying capacity of the wagons
will raise freight volume capacity to
meet customer requirements.
“Some 75% of import cargo we
move is from Durban,” Stephenson
Ngubane, CEO of Swaziland
Railway, told FTW.
“Our trains out of Durban are
optimised ranging from 40 to 50
wagon lengths,” he said.
Swaziland imports all its petrol
and petroleum products, and 80% of
the 290 million litres of fuel per year
is brought in by rail from Durban.
To make the country more energy
secure and to avoid shortages caused
by unexpected transportation issues,
this year Swaziland Railway is in
the process of acquiring 50 tank
wagons dedicated to petrol and diesel
transport. The new rolling stock
is being purchased from Transnet
Engineering, a division of the
Transnet Group.
The acquisition of the tank wagons
should also enable the rail line to
increase its market share for the
transportation of fuel from Durban.
INSERT & CAPTION
Some 75% of import cargo
we move is from Durban.
– Stephenson Ngubane