Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has started its annual shutdown on its Ore Corridor in the Western and Northern Cape.
TFR announced that it had started a ten-day maintenance plan across electrical, perway and technical support works along the corridor on November 8. The annual shutdown includes closure of the Ore Corridor rail line from Sishen in the Northern Cape to the Port of Saldanha in the Western Cape, stretching up to 861km.
TFR Ore Corridor managing executive, Theo Johnson, said maintenance of the Corridor was critical to providing a quality service, considering that more than 1.3 billion tons of iron ore had been exported through the Port of Saldanha since inception in 1976.
“This shutdown is an annual standing agreement with our customers, communities, contractors, as well as our sister operating divisions such as Transnet Port Terminals, Transnet Engineering, and Transnet National Ports Authority, who ensure that there is ongoing communication and engagement across a variety of platforms over the 10-day period,” Johnson said.
“It is our commitment to constantly address efficiency and productivity improvements that will further support our goal to maintain our position as a world-class heavy haul line,” he said.
The maintenance work will involve replacing old and obsolete infrastructure and focus on the full completion of critical maintenance activities which require shutdown conditions to increase volume throughput and network reliability.
The remedial work will, in the main, remove temporary speed restrictions currently restricting network capacity and velocity in various areas.
TFR said the 2022 shutdown would create 207 direct temporary employment opportunities and 180 indirect jobs for communities across the Northern and Western Cape. SMMEs that operate within the Ore Corridor will benefit from the programme.
