Minister Barbara Creecy: Iron Ore Line annual maintenance shutdown
Good afternoon, members of the media, colleagues from Transnet, and everyone joining us today.
We are here in the Northern Cape, on one of the most strategically important freight rail corridors in our country, as part of our programme for October Transport Month 2026. The theme for this year's October Transport Month is "Building a Safe, Sustainable, Reliable and Affordable Transport System." Throughout this month, we are visiting different parts of our transport network, not simply to talk about what we intend to do, but to demonstrate the progress being made and, importantly, the work that still needs to be done. Today's visit to the Iron Ore Line is an important part of that story.
We are standing on one of South Africa's most important freight rail corridors, stretching 861 kilometres from Sishen in the Northern Cape to the Port of Saldanha in the Western Cape. For 50 years, this heavy-haul railway has moved iron ore, manganese and other critical commodities from the Northern Cape to international markets. The minerals mined in this province help drive export earnings, support thousands of jobs and contribute significantly to South Africa's economy.
|This corridor is therefore far more than a railway line. It is an economic artery that supports exports, industrial growth and employment across our economy. When this corridor performs well, mines can move their commodities efficiently, exporters can reach international markets, ports can operate more effectively, and businesses across the logistics value chain can grow. It also strengthens South Africa's position as a reliable trading partner. The annual maintenance shutdown currently underway from 6 to 16 October provides the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager, or TRIM, with a dedicated window to undertake intensive maintenance that would be difficult to execute while normal rail operations continue.
During this shutdown, teams are undertaking rail replacement, screening, sleeper replacement, turnout replacement and maintenance, accelerated track maintenance, formation rehabilitation and culvert installation, as well as electrical and signalling maintenance. These may sound like highly technical activities, but ultimately they have a simple purpose: to build a safer, more reliable and more efficient railway. Safety is not separate from delivery. It is the foundation of delivery. The success of this shutdown will be measured not only by the maintenance completed, but by ensuring that every person returns home safely and that the corridor is restored to service without compromise.
Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager's (TRIM) long-term Ore Line Restoration Programme, extending to 2030, is valued at approximately R8.9 billion and is aimed at restoring reliability, improving capacity, and supporting economic growth through a safe, efficient and reliable rail network. In support of this programme, the South African Government has allocated R3.4 billion through the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) over the current and next financial year. This year, TRIM will invest approximately R2.2 billion in restorative maintenance on the Ore Corridor, of which R1.5 billion will be funded through the BFI allocation.
Transnet’s focus on improving operations on this line also includes an investment of R1.47 billion in ore line rolling stock maintenance, comprising R752.3 million for wagon maintenance and R721.9 million for locomotive maintenance. Similar amounts will be spent on rolling stock maintenance in the next financial year. These investments will support critical maintenance and overhaul programmes, including the 15GO and 43DGO locomotive overhaul programmes, while addressing long-standing maintenance backlogs and improving fleet availability, reliability and operational stability.
Rail interventions are being complemented by strategic investments in the Port of Saldanha, ensuring an integrated corridor approach to restoring South Africa's iron ore export capacity. Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) is currently commissioning the Bulk Power Upgrade Project at the Port of Saldanha, with a total capital investment of approximately R750 million. This project will increase the port's power enabling the operation of Transnet Port Terminals' third tippler and supporting higher export throughput volumes through the port.
The benefits of a programme of this scale should not only be measured in kilometres of rail replaced or sleepers installed. We must also ask what this investment means for the communities through which this railway passes. For this October intervention, approximately 1,300 fixed-term contract opportunities have been created, with more than 600 indirect opportunities expected through associated economic activity. There are also opportunities for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises across areas such as civil works, track-related services, logistics, transportation, plant and equipment support, material supply, accommodation and other support services. Larger contractors can further extend these benefits through subcontracting and procurement from local enterprises.
It is important that we view today's work within the broader context of South Africa's rail reform programme. Government has made a clear policy choice to restore rail as the backbone of our freight logistics system. A central component of this reform is opening the freight rail network to private train operating companies while retaining rail infrastructure in state ownership. The establishment of Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager has created a dedicated entity responsible for managing, maintaining and providing access to the national rail network, while the continued development of the Network Statement provides the framework through which train operating companies can access that network.
However, open access cannot succeed through policy and regulation alone. We need infrastructure that can turn reform from policy into practical implementation. Train operating companies must have confidence that when they invest in locomotives, wagons, people and operations, the infrastructure on which those investments depend is progressively becoming safer, more reliable and more predictable. That is why maintenance interventions such as the one we are witnessing today are fundamental to rail reform. We cannot invite greater volumes onto the railway without investing in the infrastructure that must carry those volumes.
We must restore confidence in South Africa's rail sector among freight customers, train operating companies, investors and the public. Our rail network must once again demonstrate its ability to support economic growth, enable trade and deliver reliable freight services. That confidence will not be restored through announcements alone. It will be restored through delivery. It is built when government, Transnet, private operators, customers, regulators and organised labour work together towards a common objective. We have seen the importance of partnership across the logistics sector. Sustainable improvements depend on collaboration between government, state-owned entities, customers and the private sector.
The same principle underpins the work being undertaken here as we prepare our rail network for a more competitive and accessible future. Government has set the objective of increasing freight transported by rail to 250 million tonnes per annum by 2029, with network access reform forming an important part of achieving that ambition. Those ambitions depend on efficient infrastructure. I want to acknowledge the hard work of the TRIM teams, Transnet colleagues, contractors, service providers and community members contributing to this shutdown programme.There is still significant work ahead, and we should not underestimate the scale of the challenge. However, the progress we have witnessed today demonstrates that our journey is already underway!
I thank you.
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