President Jacob Zuma last week led Transnet workers in the launch of the company’s newly designed rail wagons for vehicle manufacturers, as the State-owned company accelerated its efforts to boost South African manufacturing and advance its multimodal road-to-rail freight strategy.

The wagons, which were designed, engineered and manufactured at Transnet Engineering’s wagons facility, in Uitenhage, were built to the specifications of vehicle original-equipment manufacturers and form part of Transnet’s R307-billion rolling seven-year infrastructure improvement programme – the Market Demand Strategy.

The new wagons, described by the parastatal as a “significant improvement” on the original models, are larger than the conventional wagons, which will enable the new vehicle carrier to transport small passenger vehicles as well as special utility vehicles and minibuses.

The carrier also offers internal lighting, which makes it possible to load the wagons continuously over 24 hours.

Of the 350 wagons, 229 have thus far been completed and are operational on the route between Kaalfontein, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Durban. The last wagon is expected to roll out of the factory by the end of January.

Transnet noted that the additional wagons had enabled it to operate longer trains, increasing the number of freight wagons from about 25 to 45.

Zuma said at the launch that the purpose-built wagons would contribute positively to government’s campaign to promote the diversion of goods from road to rail to protect the country’s road network and promote efficiency.

He added that the development of the new vehicle carrier was also testament to the technical expertise and commitment of Transnet Engineering’s workers in Uitenhage.

“The Eastern Cape and the Port Elizabeth-Uitenhage area are high priority locations for government support, owing to the existence of the Eastern Cape automotive cluster, which is one of the most important drivers of growth in this region,” he commented.

The President added that, over the next seven years, Transnet would invest R26-billion on infrastructure expansion programmes in the Eastern Cape, in view of the province’s influence on South Africa’s economic development.

“This region is central to government’s plans to strengthen the backbone of our country’s freight transport and logistics infrastructure,” he said.