New freight-rail link more urgent than high-speed Durban–Joburg passenger line
South Africa requires a new freight railway line between Durban and Gauteng much more than it needs a high-speed passenger service, says University of Johannesburg Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management head Professor Jackie Walters.
He notes that there is a good road network between the Durban and Johannesburg, while air travel between the cities is also affordable, allowing for largely seamless movement of people.
However, statistics show that the N3 highway between KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng is under such pressure from trucks that the number of cars exceeds the number of trucks on this road for only three hours a day.
Walters advocates the construction of a new standard-gauge railway line between these provinces, dedicated to freight and able to handle train wagons with containers stacked two-high.
This line can also offer a limited passenger service.
Walters says the desire for a high-speed passenger line, as has been expressed in some corners of government, follows international trends, and does not take into account the current needs of the South African economy.
“We need to get containers off the road. We need to move them back to rail. “The speed of the entire N3 system is slowing. “We also have to secure the economic stature of Gauteng province, in South Africa.” The
Gauteng 25-year integrated transport master plan (ITMP25) project leader, Jack van der Merwe, says planned expansions of the Durban port system could see the number of containers moving to Gauteng increase from the current 1.75-million a year to around 10-million a year.
“This means we will have 26 000 trucks running around in Gauteng each day.”
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