Picture: iStock
A Transnet SOC Ltd (Transnet) train carrying export coal en route to Richards Bay derailed outside Intshamanzi, near Ulundi on Tuesday morning, Transnet has confirmed.
Response teams were activated and customers were notified of the incident.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR) post-strike recovery last month revealed that due to wage disputes, there was a 22% cable theft spike.
According to Transnet, this took a toll on the economy as the freight rail company is vital to the country’s export and import industry.
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As a result of the cable theft, 257 trains were either stranded, or “staged”, across the network, although 234 of these were then cleared.
In the period January 2021 to October 2021, Transnet lost over 1000 km of copper cable, over an average of 600 theft and vandalism incidents monthly.
“The consequences of cable theft are not limited to financial losses but often result in tragedy. TFR security is under constant threat such as the incident last week where a security officer was ambushed and fatally injured at the Natalspruit Depot in Germiston,” it said in a statement.
In the period 29 October – 10 November 2021, 55km of cable was stolen, 9.4km of which, was stolen in two days.
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“The rampant theft and vandalism has severe impact on freight movements and has a direct impact on TFR’s and customer’s revenues as we cancel trains daily.”
Between January 2021 and October 2021, Transnet cancelled 1190 trains as a direct result of security related incidents.
“Many of the incidents take place on high traffic and high volume corridors, moving major bulk commodities for our customers. We have seen a particular spike in incidents in the NorthCor (where we move Coal), CapeCor (where we move Manganese) and the Central Corridor which is a junction connecting all of our corridors. These lost volumes can never be recouped.”
The incidents range from the theft of copper cable, vandalism of susbstations which are crucial to the running of the electrified fleet, theft of wiring and cable from locomotives, theft of wooden rail sleepers and other malicious damage to Transnet property.
The damage runs into hundreds of millions, said Transnet.