South Africa will soon allow private firms to run trains on its freight network in a bid to improve services after years of problems with the state-owned ports and rail company Transnet.
The government shortlisted 11 private companies that will now hold further talks about securing routes to transport commodities such as coal, iron ore, manganese, and sugar.
Transnet has in recent years grappled with a shortage of freight trains and inefficient ports that have cut income from exports, particularly mining. A Sep. 2023 study by South African research consultancy GAIN Group said the firm’s problem cost the country 1 billion rand ($53 million) a day.
South Africa’s transport minister stressed that the new private firms were “not cannibalising Transnet freight,” telling reporters “they are adding capacity to what Transnet freight is already carrying.”
