TFR moves closer to private sector joint ventures

Transnet Freight Rail, in conjunction with container industry stakeholders, has agreed to a collaborative approach to solving the current congestion at City Deep caused by a surge in demand for rail capacity. “It’s no longer a TFR issue but rather a supply chain issue,” TFR spokesman Mike Asefovitz told FTW, “which is why a solution must involve every link in the supply chain.” TFR called a meeting last Thursday which included all stakeholders – shipping lines, depot operators, intermodal companies and cargo owners – and the idea is to resuscitate the now defunct Container Industry Forum and to meet on a monthly basis to foster the collaborative approach. According to TFR the current congestion is not so much a rail capacity issue, but rather the result of a massive shift from road to rail over the past year with demand exceeding supply. “The recession had a major effect on the road industry,” Asefovitz explained. “Several trucking companies closed shop while a number were unable to place new trucks on the road because of the new credit act and banks stricter lending rigour. The impact was that road lost a lot of capacity. “With the market now recovering, the capacity is not there. In addition road tariffs have increased significantly.” The swing to rail is evident in statistics provided by TFR. “In 2007 we were running three trains a day on the Natcor corridor between Gauteng and Durban. This year we are averaging 20 trains a day,” he said. In the 2009/10 financial year, TFR City Deep terminal handled 250 000 TEUs. The figure projected for 2010/11 is 294 000 and this comes off a base in 2007/08 of 136 000. In another example, Kascon, the Kaserne terminal, handled 42 556 TEUs in 2009/10 with 68 000 projected for 2010/11 – an increase of 60%. “Demand clearly exceeds capacity which is why it was necessary to bring all role TFR moves closer to private sector joint ventures train and we could assist TFR with overflow volumes. “The siding should be complete by early October and in mid-September we will enter into discussions with TFR to deal with commercial issues. “We find it very encouraging that they are looking to go into joint ventures with the private sector.”