Transnet to launch multibillion-rand security plan to save rail network

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) is to launch an urgent programme at the cost of billions of rand to secure its infrastructure from rampant theft and vandalism, which costs SA dearly in lost exports of bulk commodities and general freight.

CEO Sizakele Mzimela told Business Day that after intense talks with customers an announcement is due in the next two weeks on what the rail and train operator plans to do to curb theft of its infrastructure, working closely with the private sector to roll out innovative technologies and strategies.

Data shared by TFR with its customers provides an insight into the severity of the problem, which shows little sign of abating. In the current climate, with Covid-19 constraining the economy, unemployment rising to almost 33% and the state’s fiscal resources directed at controlling the pandemic, the implications of lost foreign earnings are severe, not only for the country but also companies relying on rail to generate revenue.

In the past five years, there has been a more than three-fold increase in tonnages lost to disruptions on the rail network resulting from theft and vandalism. This means 2.2-million tonnes of freight was lost in the 2019/2020 financial year, compared with 630,000 tonnes five years earlier.

More than 7,000 such incidents were reported to the police that year compared with 4,000 five years before.

Theft of copper cabling peaked in November 2020 with more than 120km of wire stolen. With copper trading at about $10,000 a tonne, replacement costs are high.

Major mining companies such as Kumba Iron Ore, coal exporter Exxaro Resources and chrome miner Tharisa have criticised the parastatal for failing to move tonnages into high-price markets, citing reasons ranging from theft of infrastructure to locusts on the tracks.

Mzimela said implementation of new security technologies in conjunction with the private sector “must begin in September to give us six months of improved operations”.

Referring to the financial year-end in March 2022, she said: “We are bleeding.”

She continued: “I have an estimated cost number ... we want to run it past the minister [of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan] ... but it runs into billions over three years.

“We intend to roll four types of technology out as quickly as possible, which will make a marked difference.

“We will focus on the first technology to be rolled quickly, but to roll out all four solutions will take roughly two-and-a-half years if we accelerate the process,” she said.

The private sector is expected to contribute towards the scheme, but TFR does not expect to give its clients a discount on tariffs for their contribution to resolving what is a “national problem”, she said, pointing out that companies would rather divert funds into securing rail than pay expensive trucking costs.

Asked if the private sector’s contribution could be seen as a donation, Mzimela said: “The key issue here is that this is not a Transnet problem.

“We have been trying to solve a problem that is much larger than Transnet.

“That’s what our customers now understand and see value in clubbing together ... so it’s a pooling of resources to find a more sustainable solution to theft and crime.”

Mzimela declined to go into details about the four key technology thrusts that have been developed by Transnet and internationally.

TFR has stepped up internal security operations and this has resulted in more than 100 arrests a month on average so far in 2021, she said.

“It’s not assisting us and it hasn’t reduced the problem at all,” she said, adding that security operations in one area just pushed criminals to another, less secure area.

“We, as SA, are in trouble. We must find different solutions to the problem. We cannot find a solution by doing what we’re doing today. We cannot do it on our own as Transnet,” she said.

The worst affected of the six key rail corridors are those running from and through Johannesburg and Pretoria in the industrial heartland of Gauteng, linking to the port cities of Durban and Richards Bay. The coal line to Richards Bay from Mpumalanga, and the line from Rustenburg to the latter port are also severely affected.

Lines that pass near inhabited areas, particularly informal settlements, are hardest hit by theft and vandalism, but the nature of crime has changed to organised and syndicated theft from petty incidents, needing a higher degree of police involvement to resolve it, Mzimela said.

This article originally appeared on Business Day

Photo: Business Day