Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) said it has set a new world record after running a 7.6km long train on the Sishen-Saldanha Railway Line. The line carries iron ore from the Northern Cape to the coast.
TFR said the empty train had 696 wagons. It travelled 861km from the Port of Saldanha to the Northern Cape mines over a Saturday and Sunday, News24 reported.
“While setting a world record is a significant achievement, the real value lies in the technical knowledge and operational insights gained through this exercise,” TFR head Russel Baatjies said in a statement.
“These learnings will contribute to the continued advancement of rail operations, support innovation and strengthen our freight rail capability into the future,” he said. Baatjies said the run showed the depth and skill of the operator.
According to Guinness World Records, the old record belonged to mining company BHP Iron Ore. Its freight train was 7.35km long.
That train ran 275km in June 2001. It went from the company’s Newman and Yandi mines to Port Hedland in Western Australia.
The BHP train had an estimated 682 ore cars and eight diesel-electric locomotives. Together they weighed 99 732 tonnes.
Transnet has held this kind of record before. In 1989 it ran a specially built iron ore train that was 7.2km long. At the time, it was the longest and heaviest train ever operated.
The 1989 train had 660 wagons and 16 locomotives. Its gross weight was 70 000 tonnes.
In December 2018, Transnet also ran what was the world’s longest manganese train. It had 375 wagons and was 4km long.
The record run came after the Sishen-Saldanha line was shut from 6 to 16 October for yearly maintenance. TFR said the work forms part of the Ore Line Restoration Programme.
The long-term programme is worth R8.9 billion. Its goal is to make the line reliable and efficient again by 2030.
About R3.4 billion has been set aside for the programme over the next two financial years. The money comes through the Budget Facility for Infrastructure, News24 reported.
The Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager looks after the country’s physical rail network. It is expected to spend R2.2 billion on restoring and maintaining the network this year, including rolling stock.
Source: this article is based on reporting by News24. Image: News24. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.