TRANSNET Engineering has reported a significant drop in cable theft as it remains the bottlenecks hindering the reliability of the rail infrastructure.

Cable theft and maintenance backlog remain two of the major challenges crippling Transnet’s infrastructure. This emerged during an unveiling of the 200th state-of-the-art 23E locomotive at the Transnet Engineering plant on Solomon Mahlangu Drive on November 19.

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Transnet board chairperson Dr Andile Sangqu, during his keynote address, said Transnet Freight Rail accounted for more than 90% of the incidents reported in the 2023/2024 financial year.

However, Sangqu noted that cable theft incidents decreased from 4400 to 3501 last year.

“With a 27% reduction in cable thefts, we acknowledged the magnitude of our challenges and are committed to putting the organisation on a sustainable path. This promoted our decision to implement the 18-month Transnet recovery plan in October 2023. Key elements of this recovery journey included a strong commitment to capital expenditure.

“In the next five years, we plan to spend R127b with approximately 84.7% of this expenditure earmarked for maintenance and refurbishment of infrastructure. In 2024/2025 financial year our capital expenditure was R24b which points out to our intent to enhance our operational capacity and facilitate future growth,” Sangqu said.

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In a recent joint operation between the metro police and private security companies, electricity cables were removed from the informal settlement along Solomon Mahlangu Drive. The informal settlement known as Marikana is located near the Transnet railway line.

“The maintenance backlog continues to be a long-standing issue that affects the reliability of our rail infrastructure. Years of significant underinvestment  in crucial maintenance have had crippling effects on our assets resulting  to frequent breakdowns and derailments. Vandalism and theft of infrastructure especially copper has diverted resources from maintenance to replacement of infrastructure,” said Sangqu.

However, Sangqu was pleased that their enhanced security measures and collaboration with key stakeholders such as the police are starting to pay off.

“In March 21, Transnet recorded 6 345 security incidents which is a 23% year-on-year decline from the 8 234 that we experienced in the 2023/2024 financial year,” Sangqu added.

At the function speakers told attendees that the locomotive is among the 240 units that Transnet has procured as part of its fleet renewal programme.

Transnet Group chief executive Michelle Phillips said the Traxx 23E project is the cornerstone of Transnet’s effort to modernise its freight rail fleet.

“Modernising our fleet is a critical component of the national mandate to lower the cost of doing business and enable economic growth. Today’s celebration of this milestone is a manifestation of our commitment to modernise our fleet and enhance freight capacity through sustained and focused investment in rolling stock assets,” said Phillips.

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