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The resignation of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) CEO Siza Mzimela just days after group CEO Portia Derby announced that she will be stepping down, has highlighted the urgent need for key stakeholders across the industry to come together to craft the solutions necessary to save the country’s rail sector.

As a country we need huge investment into the national track infrastructure and quickly, otherwise we’re not going to see efficiencies in our network or efficiencies in our train operations that are going to result in sustainable rail operations in South Africa into the future.

The answer lies in multiple private sector investment through concessions on the infrastructure. Private third-party access to, and participation in, the freight rail network’s performance is crucial to South Africa’s economy and the continued growth of our industry.

We support Government’s proposed structural reforms to the rail sector, and implore the new leadership of Transnet to take a wider view on the true challenges that face the freight rail sector and more meaningfully engage with the private sector.

The private sector is willing to invest and help rebuild a vibrant rail sector, on which many industries rely, but we can only do so if it is done according to the NRP.

Issued by Mesela Kope-Nhlapo, CEO of the African Rail Industry Association (ARIA)