Upswing in volumes moved by rail

There is definite upswing in the share of rail transport, with Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) set to move a projected 225 million tonnes of freight this year, compared to 220 million tonnes last year.

So said Elvin Harris, executive manager for strategic knowledge at TFR, speaking at the monthly Special Interest Group (SIG) Transport Forum in Johannesburg last week.  “This upswing is occurring more rapidly than we anticipated,” he said.

Harris acknowledged the fact that upgrades and acquisitions within TFR – as part of Transnet’s ambitious R300 billion Market Demand Strategy (MDS) – might not be happening as fast as industry would like but commented that there was a huge backlog that the parastatal needed to redress.

“This is a massive ship to turn around and we are focusing on doing it properly rather than as a quick-fix solution but I can assure you we are moving and we are moving in the right direction,” he said.

According to Harris, R14.6 billion has already been spent on railway expansion and R19 billion on replacement of rolling stock, since the MDS was launched in 2012.

Transnet has also now secured 92% of the required funding for its ambitious 1064 locomotives, he said.