Transnet mulls new Richards Bay line

[miningmx.com] — Freight logistics group Transnet may build a new rail line to the port at Richards Bay via Swaziland to free up capacity on its main coal export line, Business Day reported on Wednesday.

Coal miners have been unable to ship all their coal destined for exports due to lack of capacity on the rail lines linking their mines with the port.

Quoting the head of Transnet’s freight rail unit, Siyabonga Gama, the paper said that up to 15 million tonnes of non-coal cargo may be moved to the Swaziland line.

“We want to see if we can explore a link through Swaziland to Richards Bay so we can use that channel to take out non-coal cargo, which would vastly improve capacity,” Gama was quoted as saying.

Transnet could not immediately comment.

South Africa exported 63.4 million tonnes of coal last year, far below the expanded capacity at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal of 91 million tonnes.