By 2040, national container
volumes are forecast to hit
20 million TEUs a year –
and Transnet Freight Rail is
determined not to be caught
short again playing catch-up
on its investment.
“The real work needs to
begin now,” says TFR sales
and marketing executive
Bheka Xaba.
“What we have recorded
from discussions with our
customers is that in the last
financial year we handled
556 000 TEUs. Our target
for 2010/11 is 675 000, a
21% increase. And by 2016
we expect to handle 1.118m
TEUs.”
These figures are
calculated by tracking rail
market share on a monthly
basis, says Xaba.
“We take the total
port figures, exclude
transhipments and coastwise
and that gives us what is rail
friendly on the long haul. It
also excludes 40% of short
haul volumes and includes
MPT container volumes.
“On the Natcor corridor,
from April 2010 until now,
our market share has reached
34% – so by the end of
the financial year we will
have reached the target set
three years ago and the
commitment we made to exco
will have been reached a year
earlier.”
A pleasing result.
Xaba is equally satisfied
with market share on the
Cape corridor – at 26% – and
on the PE corridor where it
currently stands at 39%.
This paints a clear picture
of the additional capacity
that will be necessary to
meet demand, but it will be
achieved not only by capital
investment in additional
equipment, but also by
working smarter.
Part of the solution will be
the expansion of its Anaconda
project – running 75-wagon
trains rather than 40 wagons
to maximise existing capacity.
Plans are already in place
to increase the frequency
of the Anaconda on the
Johannesburg-Durban route
from three to five times
weekly and to introduce
the concept on the Pretcon
corridor as well. TFR has
run successful test trains
between Pretcon-Durban and
its awaiting the Rail Safety
Regulator’s final approval,
he said.
TFR expects to handle 1.1m TEUs by 2016
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