Grindrod has completed the first test train run by a private operator on South Africa's national freight rail network, Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) said on Tuesday 3 November.
TRIM, a division of Transnet, and Grindrod described the run on the North-East Corridor as a major milestone for rail reform. Grindrod is the first private train operating company to run on the network under the open-access framework.
What happened
The operation began in Komatipoort on 1 November with an empty leg and returned on 2 November carrying 2,991 metric tons. Grindrod used its own locomotives and wagons. The run follows the signing of Rail Access Agreements with 12 train operating companies.
TRIM chief executive Moshe Motlohi said in the statement: "The successful completion of this test train is a landmark achievement for South Africa's rail reform programme. It demonstrates that open access is no longer a policy concept but an operational reality."
What Grindrod plans next
Grindrod plans to begin commercial operations in 2027, moving about 288,000 tonnes in the first year, mainly coal from Mpumalanga to Grindrod's Matola Terminal in Mozambique. It will use the two slots allocated to it on the corridor.
Grindrod Limited group chief executive Kwazi Mabaso said the ability to combine rail operations with terminal infrastructure and corridor footprint would deliver greater efficiency, reliability and value to customers, and described the project as helping to restore rail as the backbone of bulk freight transport.
What we do not yet know
- What Grindrod will pay to use the network, and how access charges will work.
- When the other operators that have signed Rail Access Agreements will run their own test trains.
- Whether the 2027 start date and first-year volume will hold.
The details above come from the TRIM and Grindrod statement. They have not been independently verified.
