KEY POINTS
- TRIM has issued an RFI to gauge private interest in South Africa’s 9,098 km of low-density rail branch lines.
- The request covers refurbishment, financing, operation, maintenance and possible concessioning, with responses due by September 30.
- The move extends rail reforms after TRIM signed access deals with 11 private operators to lift volumes toward 250 million tons.
South Africa’s rail infrastructure manager has launched a market test to gauge private-sector interest in the country’s low-density railway branch lines for freight and passenger services.
Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager, known as TRIM, published a request for information covering the so-called B-Network, a roughly 9,098 km web of lines that feed the core network but carry low freight volumes or small passenger and tourism services. Because those lines run below capacity, TRIM wants outside partners to help revive them.
What the RFI covers
According to TRIM, the request seeks interest in the refurbishment, financing, operation, maintenance and potential concessioning of these lines. Moreover, respondents have until 10:00 on September 30 to reply, after which the manager will use the feedback to design one or more procurement programmes that match industry demand.
Still, the plan faces a familiar hurdle. Previous attempts by Transnet to concession the branch lines largely failed, mainly because many lines sit in poor condition and need heavy investment to restore. Therefore, TRIM framed the exercise as a way to test appetite before it commits to a procurement route, rather than as a firm offer. It stressed that the information gathered would shape the design of any future programme.
Building on mainline reforms
TRIM CEO Moshe Motlohi said private participation on the B-Network marks a critical step in reforming the country’s freight logistics system. Furthermore, he tied the move to recent progress on the mainline network, where the manager has opened access to third-party operators. He argued that feeder and branch lines should share in the same wave of innovation and investment.
In May, TRIM signed rail access agreements with 11 new private train operating companies and published Version 4 of its Network Statement to draw more investors. Consequently, the manager wants to lift annual rail volumes to 250 million tons from about 180 million tons today. It said the new request extends that momentum by opening branch and feeder lines to fresh operators and funding.
