AFRICA: An agreement in principle to provide landlocked Botswana with more efficient rail access to South African ports has been announced by Botswana Railways and Transnet Freight Rail.
The two operators are to collaborate to upgrade sections of the 126 km South African line between Swartruggens and Mafikeng to enable heavy haul trains to run from Botswana to the ports of Richards Bay and Durban. The work will be funded jointly by the two governments, with TFR and BR responsible for implementation.
The two operators also plan to build a connecting line from Mamabula in Botswana to Lephalale in South Africa to facilitate the export of coal.
They will also collaborate on tackle cable theft and infrastructure vandalism, which TFR said is ‘a rising problem in Botswana and rampant in South Africa’.
