Joint ventures provide win-win scenario
Public private partnerships,
collaboration, joint ventures …
call them what you will, they’re
the way of the future, and
Transnet Freight Rail has made
some significant moves.
“In the US the biggest
customers of rail are road
transporters, and it’s an area
in which TFR
is making
an impact,”
says executive
manager,
intermodal
business unit,
Wiseman
Madinane.
“In addition
to the
memorandum of
understanding
(MoU) already signed with
Imperial, we’ve signed another
MoU with a major road
transporter that handles over
50 000 TEUs a year.”
The deals primarily target
express traffic and will see
the road hauliers doing the
shorthaul while TFR does
the longhaul.
“We’re currently writing the
rules of how this will be done.
The trains will run outside of
metro hours so that they will
either arrive before 4am to
cross into the yards and depart
either before or after metro
peak. In all likelihood they will
get to City Deep at odd hours,
but we are a 24-hour operation.
When the train
arrives at 3am it
will be offloaded
by 6am and we
want all the
trucks to be
lined up outside
to pick up
boxes.”
Public private
partnerships
are also
working well
for Transnet’s property
division. “We have a number
of properties very nicely
positioned along the rail
network. We’re now busy
leasing them out on a
minimum five-year contract to
support rail.”
In Bloemfontein, for
example, TFR has leased out
one of its warehouses. Cargo
is brought in by road and the
containers are packed and
railed to the Eastern Cape for
the export market through the
Port of Ngqura.
At City Deep, SACD
Freight occupies the area
adjacent to TFR. “Whenever
we are out of capacity we
ask them to load and offload
some of our loads. A similar
agreement is in place with C
Steinweg Bridge.”
In Denver Grindrod has
built a facility and a siding
construction with two
25-wagon rail lines is under
way. “We will shunt for them
and rail for them and they
will warehouse, stuff, destuff
and distribute.”
Similar deals are being
considered in Rustenburg,
Polokwane, Durban and
Cape Town.
“We believe we cannot be
everything to the South African
market. We need the private
sector to play their role –
particularly where we don’t have
the expertise or capability.”
INSERT
The deals will see the
road hauliers doing the
shorthaul while TFR
does the longhaul.
