Zuma launches Transnet’s new automotive rail wagons
President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday led Transnet workers in the launch of the company’s newly designed rail wagons for vehicle manufacturers, as the State-owned company accelerates 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 exact specifications of vehicle original-equipment manufacturers, and formed part of Transnet’s R307-billion rolling seven-year infrastructure improvement programme – the Market Demand Strategy.
The new wagons, which were described by the parastatal as a “significant improvement” on the original models, were larger than the conventional wagons, which would enable the new vehicle carrier to transport small passenger vehicles as well as special utility vehicles and minibuses.
The carrier also offered internal lighting, which made it possible to load the wagons continuously over 24 hours.
Of the 350 wagons, 229 had thus far been completed and were operational on the route between Kaalfontein, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Durban. The last wagon was 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 networks and promote efficiency.
He added that the development of the new vehicle carrier was also testament to the technical expertise and commitment of the 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 lieu 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.
Comments
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation