The Namibian government has made funds available for the starting phase of the upgrade of the 392 km of railway between Kranzberg, near Uskaos, and Tsumeb, in the country’s central-northern region.

This phase of the project will cost about N$95-million.

The line, like many of the rail lines in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, is outdated and desperately in need of repair.

The upgrade comes as Namibia Custom Smelters, in Tsumeb, is readying a plant to manufacture sulphuric acid, which will be transported to the mines in the uranium-rich Erongo region.

According to Dawie Möller, MD of D&M Rail, which has been contracted to undertake the project, this section of rail is critical to the logistics of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG).

“Walvis Bay harbour has become the focus of rail traffic in Namibia owing to economic growth. Some 80% of all the country’s rail traffic begins and ends there. The section of the line between Kranzberg and Tsumeb links the harbour to Ondangwa and Oshikango and, hence, Angola. Namibia Custom Smelters and Ohorongo Cement were important drivers of this upgrade.”

Says WBCG marketing and communications officer Agnetha Mouton: “The upgrading of the Kranzberg rail will allow for increased capacity along the TransCunene Corridor and the Walvis Bay–Ndola–Lubumbashi Development Corridor, but especially to Angola and Zambia.”

The upgrade and stabilisation, which started in December, will comprise two phases and will be completed by end of this year.

Möller says that the current work focuses on short- to medium-term repairs. By the time the sulphuric acid plant is operational, estimated to be by August 2014, the rail must be ready to transport this product.

“In the long term, the rail will be upgraded to SADC standards, which implies 18.5 t per axle. Safety and efficiency, not speed, are the primary focal points. Joints are being renewed and curves stabilised by resleepering them with concrete sleepers. Once new rails arrive, the obsolete 30 kg/m rails will be replaced with 48 kg/m rails and welded into continuous lengths, which requires much less maintenance. Narrow embankments will be widened to accommodate a proper ballast formation of 1 200 m3/km. The head walls of culverts will be raised and, where required, drainage structures will be replaced.

“On the current 30 kg track, all ultrasonically identified rail cracks are to be eliminated, new fish plates fitted, where required, and unnecessary joints eliminated by means of exothermic welding. Geometrical alignment and tamping by machines from TransNamib Holdings form part of the scope of the work. It is very important to completely eliminate the risk areas of the track.”

Between 300 and 400 unskilled locals will be deployed to execute the project.

Where possible, all the materials are to be sourced locally.

The Namibian government, through a joint venture with GPT, of India, and TransNamib Holdings, is manufacturing concrete sleepers in Tsumeb and the ballast is produced by Okoruso Fluospar, near Otjiwarongo. SAR48kg is the standard in Namibia for rail and this is ordered from approved suppliers, mostly in Europe.

The upgrade is long overdue. With around 50% of the Namibian rail network old and outdated, derailments, especially along this section of the line, have been common and trains have been forced to travel as slowly at 15 km/h, impacting on service delivery and efficiency and placing a heavy monetary burden on the operator. With this upgrade, rail traffic, which is far more efficient where bulk transport is needed, will increase and the WBCG, the uranium industry as well as the mines and plants of Namibia’s central and northern regions will eliminate much of their current logistics challenges.