Transnet expansion boosts coal line capacity fivefold

Col André Kritzinger via Wikimedia Commons

State-owned freight and logistics company Transnet said on Thursday that the expanded line would boost capacity from 400,000 tonnes of coal to two million tonnes per annum.

The project is part of Transnet's plans to spend R21.8bn over the next seven years to increase the capacity on the export coal line to 81-million tonnes. The project involved the construction of a 1.8km-long "passing loop" at Matlabas near Lephalale in Limpopo, which allows 100-wagon trains to pass without disrupting other trains. Previously, only 50-wagon trains could be operated.

After years of bickering between Transnet and the country's biggest coal exporters over the mismatch between the capacity at the Richards Bay port terminal and Transnet Freight Rail's ability to carry the coal to port, Transnet has invested heavily in improving its capacity and efficiency. The Richards Bay terminal is owned by coal producers.

Transnet is in the middle of rolling out its market demand strategy - a R340bn - R380bn recapitalisation programme to expand and modernise rail and port infrastructure over 10 years. It is acquiring more than 1,000 new locomotives for the rail network, with more than 100 heavy haul locomotives being made for the coal line.

"The investment has resulted in a significant increase in rail capacity, improved operational efficiencies and faster turnaround times," said Transnet spokesman Molatwane Likhethe.

The construction of the loop forms part of a five-phase plan to increase capacity on the coal line. Phase two is expected to increase coal transported from Lephalale to Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal from two million tonnes to six million tonnes a year.

Source: Business Day