Transnet Freight Rail has reopened a line on the Container Corridor, a key economic node to move freight between Gauteng and Durban with Transnet progressing to repair its flood-hit operation.
The single line between Durban and Cato Ridge was reopened on Monday after operations had been suspended since 11 April when devastating floods wreaked havoc in KwaZulu-Natal and damaged the country’s key export and import infrastructure.
Freight between Gauteng and Durban will now resume on the line. Additional capacity will be unlocked on the mainline in September, when repairs on the second line are completed and it is reopened to traffic.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan commended Transnet on significant progress in repair work.
This includes repairs to serious damage on the railway line, which had to be reconstructed between Durban and Cato Ridge; the reconstruction of parts of Bayhead Road where 60m of the road had collapsed; the creation of a new access road to the Port of Durban; and maintenance of the railway line, which was brought forward.
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As part of the second phase of the rehabilitation project at the Port of Durban, Transnet National Ports Authority on Friday successfully commissioned the fourth lane on Bayhead Road, which leads to the Durban Container Terminals and the Island View Precinct in the Port, and was heavily impacted when parts of the road were washed away by the floods.
Transnet Freight Rail is now moving staged loads between Durban and Cato Ridge, which were prevented from reaching their destinations during the floods. Once completed – which is estimated to be by the end of today – flows between City Deep and Durban will commence.
The opening of the line, the department said, is testament to Transnet’s internal capabilities as 90% of the rehabilitation work comprising design and construction was executed by Transnet’s Rail Network Construction division and 10% was outsourced.
“The recovery from the damage caused by the flooding in KwaZulu-Natal will enable exporters and importers that utilise the port of Durban to return to normality, and Transnet will endeavour to ensure that all shipping lines continue to service the Port of Durban,” the DPE said. “Much work still needs to be done in the south basin area, and Transnet continues to work with the province, municipality and other stakeholders in that area to ensure this work is concluded speedily.”
Source: News 24
