Transnet Freight Rail’s
Wiseman Zazi Madinane
has opened the door to
further discussions on the
equalisation of rail rates
between Port Elizabeth and
Johannesburg and Durban
and Johannesburg to relieve
pressure on the Port of
Durban during upgrades.
The executive manager
of TFR’s intermodal
business unit told guests
at a Safmarine business
breakfast in Johannesburg
last week that he was open
to pursuing the option
further.
“Prior to the
refurbishments in Durban
we did a lot of thinking and
talking and spoke to our
customers well in advance,”
Safmarine’s Southern
Africa sales executive,
Dieter Veening, told FTW.
“We were toying with
the opportunity of reducing
pressure in Durban by
calling Port Elizabeth first.
“We couldn’t do it on the
Asia service where Durban
is the first port of call
because clients want that
cargo as soon as it gets to
Durban.
“But one of the angles
was to call at Port
Elizabeth on other services
and to look at equalisation
of rails rate between PE
and Johannesburg and
Durban and Johannesburg
because the refurbishment
will be under way for some
time.
“This could have
potentially saved – and
can still reduce – a lot of
pressure on Durban,” he
said.
“It’s one of the
discussions that has gone
around Transnet,” said
Madinane.
“In principle we believe
that customers should
not absorb the cost of our
refurbishments and we
need to look at how we can
manage it commercially,
and if it does make sense,
because we are under
pressure at the port of
Durban,” he said.
“The problem at the
moment is that the PE
line is experiencing high
volumes – particularly of
manganese – and capacity
is quite constrained.
“But it’s a discussion on
which we have not closed
the door.”
CAPTION
Wiseman Madinane … ‘We need
to look at how we can manage it
commercially.’
