Transnet Freight Rail Achieves A Record Volume Performance for the PE Manganese Export Line

 Transnet Freight Rail’s Cape Corridor has achieved a 10-year record on its Manganese Hotazel-Port Elizabeth export line, achieving 9 780 293 million tons in the 2022/23 financial year. 

We are delighted with the success of the Cape Corridor and the commitment that has been shown by our employees, stakeholders and customers. We have more than doubled our corridor’s total capacity, increasing progressively from 4.9 million tons in 2012 to 9.7 million tons in 2023. 

These efforts were driven by our commitment to deliver value and respond to the needs of our customers. Working in tandem with our customers to jointly realise expansion efforts, the customers have shown their commitment to growing manganese volumes by boosting the capacity in their facilities to reduce loading times. We are working closely with customers for continuous improvement and phased implementation of further growth plans to meet demand. 

This is a significant milestone for Transnet Freight Rail and has been made possible by a combination of investment in the rail infrastructure, rolling stock and our employees. The investment in the capacity expansion enabled TFR to gradually increase its Manganese volumes performance through: 

• CAPEX projects 
  • Transnet’s investment in the rail infrastructure capacity between Kimberley and De Aar, at a cost of R2.2 bn – a project that was completed in 2017. 
  • Protection of the network through new Weigh-in-Motion weighbridges at Vlermuislaagte and Postmasburg. 
  • Power upgrade in the Witloop and Vlermuislaagte substations to cater for the higher power demand. 
• An increase in slot capacity: 
  • Improving the number of slots to run 104-wagon Export Manganese trains – an increase from 16 in 2012 to the current 42. This has been achieved through close collaboration with the OCC Service Design, Rail Network and Operations Efficiency teams. 
• Rolling stock capacity
  • Major investments into the CR17 wagons as well as the 23E Dual Voltage Electric locomotives used on the Corridor. 
• Employees
  • An increase in the staff complement across the PE Manganese export line, including mainline crew, yard officials and rail network to drive the increased volume in trains.