A new market testing exercise has been initiated to assess interest in partnership opportunities across South Africa’s railway branch lines for freight and passenger trains.
This so-called B-Network involves some 9 098 km of lines that connect to the core rail network, but which are characterised by low freight volumes and/or small-scale passenger or tourism services.
Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM), which is responsible for the management, maintenance and development of the country’s rail infrastructure, has published a request for information (RFI) to assess interest in the refurbishment, financing, operation, maintenance and potential concessioning of these low-density lines.
The deadline for responses to the RFI has been set for 10:00 on September 30.
Previous attempts by Transnet to concession the lines have proved largely unsuccessful, owing mainly to the poor condition of many of the lines and the investment required to restore operations.
