The beginning of better things?

Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy has approved the publishing of the Transnet Network Statement for the rail network in South Africa. GAVIN KELLY, CEO of the Road Freight Association (RFA), says the Network Statement facilitates open access to South Africa’s rail network by third-party operators.

Are we about to see great things, or will we instead enter into a vicious cycle of argument and squabbles by various potential third-party operators – as recently seen at the Port of Durban?

For years, the RFA has been very vocal about the need for “revolutionary” change in our rail operations. Despite its current challenges, South Africa’s rail network – with its extensive reach and some (to this day) state-of-the-art infrastructure in certain areas – has the potential to become a cornerstone of the national economy, driving growth and creating numerous jobs.

However, there are some nagging questions. Can Transnet really create the required environment for third party operators to operate efficiently on the rail network? Is the rail network – including the signalling, rail mass carrying capacity, points, sidings, warehousing, security, and other infrastructure – ready to accommodate a flood of trains and a drive from the national logistics chain requirements? Are the train sets adequate, or will these all need to come from the third-party operators? Who will adjudicate and resolve disagreements between these third-party operators, or between them and Transnet itself?

Whilst a huge amount of cargo is delivered via road every day, the reality is that the cargo needs to move between the origination and destination; the challenge will be creating an environment where system failures (or third-party failures) do not result in a collapse of the various routes identified for the open access.

The RFA has continually noted that rail needs to “carry its load”, and this has been clearly underwritten by the impact that we have all witnessed on roads across the country. These roads were never built to take the current volumes of vehicles, nor the axle mass loads (even before a consideration of any overloading comes into play). Both roads and towns along the way have had a Jeckell and Hyde relationship: damage and wear to the infrastructure, but an increase in local business trading to support the increase in road freight traffic through these regions.

Truly, the publishing of the network statement is an important step. The RFA encourages all companies that could become third-party operators to study the statement and to engage with the Department of Transport in getting rail operations back to a viable and efficient service. There will be many opportunities for road transport and there will be changes in how transport is undertaken (in the long run), but we need to get the foundation pieces running. Reliably. Efficiently. Securely. Affordably.

The RFA will watch developments with keen interest; 2025 will be a crucial year in ensuring that South Africa – and thereby its economy and wealth creation for all its citizens in the form of employment – will turn around and become an invigorated and vibrant logistics hub, chain, and developmental node for all modes of transport. Surely, by now, there should be no argument that road and rail can (and must) symbiotically work together.