Transnet and Moz rail pact to expand SA chrome exports, take 200 trucks off the road

Transnet Freight Rail has signed a co-operative agreement with its Mozambican railways counterpart, Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM), to boost exports of chrome and ferro-chrome from Belfast in Mpumalanga province, direct to the Maputo Port in Mozambique. South Africa holds about 70% of the world's total chrome reserves and is the largest producer of chrome ore in the world, supplying 83% of China’s total annual chrome ore imports. The Minerals Council South Africa has flagged chrome as one of the commodities which is losing out on significant export opportunities because of continued poor railing performance. The agreement will see the two implement a new model which will see consignments of 50 chrome and ferro-chrome wagon loads being hauled by two 43D diesel locomotives from Belfast straight through to the Port of Maputo. This replaces a current operating model that involves exchanging of locomotives which require five crews from origin to destination and result in significant time delays each time the locomotives are exchanged. The new model is expected to reduce the transit time by twelve hours and improve efficiency and crew requirements, allowing the current 15 trains per week to be increased to 21 per week which translates to a volume increase of more than 800 000 tons per annum. Transnet Freight Rail said it expects that this will significantly reduce the number of chrome and ferro-chrome trucks on the road en route from South Africa to the Maputo Port and estimates the increased volume by rail will remove some 200 trucks from the road per week. "Rail transport is critical in bolstering economic development and this initiative will enable both railways to support the recovery of the region by connecting Africa to the world," Transnet Freight Rail CEO Sizakele Mzimela said. "This project is another example of a key driver of intra-trade supporting the growth of our two economies."