The Road Freight Association and a trucking company have welcomed the strides made by Transnet to address truck congestion at the Port of Richards Bay.
Truck congestion on roads leading to the port was raised as a significant issue last year by the City of uMhlathuze which said there had been unprecedented traffic on major roads.
Transnet said it has now ramped up the number of coal trains from 21 to 28 per week as part of Transnet’s Recovery Plan initiatives, and a commitment made to the City of uMhlathuze leadership and other stakeholders during a meeting in November last year.
It explained that all Transnet customers that were road hauling to the Port of Richards Bay were approached directly to indicate interest in participating in a test train service.
Transnet said as of March 31, the test train initiative had seen the moving of 106 000 tons from road to rail while removing approximately 3 100 truckloads from the roads, which is approximately 6 200 truck movements.
Transnet, however, explained that the test train initiative did not constitute a commitment for rail capacity in the long term, as there were structured ongoing processes for capacity allocation.
It said the ramp up of the trains was the latest positive development after the coal export conveyor belt, which had been out of service for two years due to fire damage, came back into full operation at Richards Bay terminals.
“Commissioned at the end of December after rigorous tests were carried out successfully, it has taken over 400 trucks off the road.”
Solomon Manne, owner of a trucking company which regularly uses the Port of Richards Bay, said he had noticed an improvement in the number of trucks at the port.
“For the last month things have been looking a lot better at the port. Trucks were free flowing and it was a simple process to get permits and offload cargo at the ports. There was a lot of space.
There were close to 20 trucks entering the port at a time, which is quite good.”
Manne added that there had been a slight uptick in congestion in the past few days.
“Yesterday I got my permit early in the morning but still had a long wait to get to the port.
“But overall it has been an improvement that I have witnessed.”
Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association, said the association has over the past decade been calling for rail to “carry its load” regarding the bulk ores that are crucial to the sustainability and development of the mining sector.
“It has been a core focus of the RFA that foundational industries (mining, agriculture, automotive, base manufacturing and larger retail goods) are supported by efficient logistics supply chains – and this means that a symbiotic relationship has to exist between road and rail.”
Kelly added that there will always be a role for road and rail. “Each has unique strengths and perfections relating to cargo-specific needs, networks, supply legs and inventory requirements. The RFA applauds the moves by Transnet to up its game. This must be sustainable and that is where the real challenge lies.”
Kelly said some rail corridors were running at less than 50% capacity and volumes were being transferred to modes that were not designed to carry the volumes required.
“Key facilities cannot lag for two years waiting for repair. The testing of moving more coal in this case is very good news.”
Norton Rose Fulbright director and master mariner Malcolm Hartwell said approximately 80% of Africa’s rail infrastructure is in South Africa.
“Transnet has, historically, transported by rail, the vast majority of commodities exported from South Africa.
In principle, carriage of, particularly commodities such as coal by rail, is far more efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly. The only reason our roads have become choked with and damaged by trucks carrying commodities is because Transnet has brought many of the rail lines to a state of virtual collapse.”
Hartwell added that the fact that they are now returning to rail for the transport of coal to Richards Bay indicated that Transnet recognised that a commodity-based economy cannot survive on road transport alone.
“The fact that there is massive truck congestion at Richards Bay indicates that the road is simply not designed to carry the large volumes of commodities such as coal. The fact that commodity exports are still profitable even using costly, time-consuming and inefficient road transport, indicates how much more profitable the exports would be if rail were used extensively.”
Waldo Krugell, an economics professor at North-West University, said that one often hears that progress is being made to solve South Africa’s logistics crisis but more often than not there are few details.
“This report (from Transnet) shows tangible progress on a very specific issue and I am glad to hear about it. Moving coal by rail is much more efficient than by road, which is good for the coal exporters.”
The Mercury