Transnet Freight Rail And The SAPS Clamp Down On Ferrochrome Thieves
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) together with the South African Police Services (SAPS) this week undertook a joint operation in response to the spike in incidents of theft of ferrochrome en route from the mines around the Mpumalanga area destined for export. TFR has recently witnessed a phenomenon where trains that are in motion are blocked by objects on the track. These incidents take place close to informal settlements around the railway track...
Cable Theft Leads To 18-Hour Closure On Transnet Freight Rail’s North Corridor
At approximately 22:50 on the evening of 6 September, Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR) North Corridor which runs from Lephalale in Limpopo, through Gauteng and Mpumalanga, to Richards Bay in KwaZulu Natal was hit by two major incidents of cable theft. One incident took place in Mswaneni between Vryheid and Ulundi on a tunnel bypass. The theft was extensive and included five spans of catenary wire stolen, five spans of contact wire vandalised and five spans of steelwork damaged. TFR has had to close the line to clear the load on the track, which will take approximately 8 hours. Once the load has been cleared a further 10 hours will be required to repair the line. The other incident on the North Corridor was an attempted cable theft at Mkhondo and required two hours of repair work, which has now been completed...
South African State-Owned Enterprises Collaborate To Fight The Scourge Of Infrastructure Vandalism
The Economic Sabotage of Critical Infrastructure (ESCI) Forum, led by the Group CEOs of Eskom, PRASA, Telkom and Transnet, has hosted a high-profile roundtable with key stakeholders to find solutions and discuss progress in tackling the challenge of theft and vandalism of economic infrastructure. The economic toll, experienced across the country, has reached the point where drastic measures are required, from a policy execution and coordination perspective...
