Photo by: Creamer Media
State-owned Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has announced the completion of the construction of the Mamathwane crossing loop, in the Northern Cape, 30 days ahead of schedule.
The completion of the loop is expected to unlock several other key projects, some of which will be announced in the coming weeks, TFR said in a statement on July 6.
It further pointed out that a key benefit of the completion of this project was the increase in export manganese capacity through the enablement of a new East London solution.
TFR currently moves most of its export manganese by operating 104-wagon trains to Gqeberha and 125-wagon trains to Saldanha Bay, both of which conjoin on the Sishen to Hotazel line. This section of the network has been a bottleneck for TFRs export manganese capacity growth.
The completion of the Mamathwane loop will decongest this section and allow for an additional four rail slots a week, thereby enabling increased volumes. The East London rail solution will originate from the mines and will run all the way to the Port of East London.
Apart from the spin-off economic benefits, the project will result in the yearly removal of an estimated 40 540 trucks from the roads.
This solution was further made possible through the return to service of some of the long-standing locomotives, which is currently one of the key strategic projects for TFR in its effort to transform its operations.