The South African private railway carrier Traxtion received the first eight Wabtec C28 locomotives in the port of Durban to enhance its freight capacity. The delivery launches a 3.4 billion rand investment programme (approximately $190 million), which provides for the acquisition of 46 locomotives and 920 cars over the next two years to accompany the gradual opening of rail freight to the private sector in South Africa.
Upon arrival from New Zealand, the eight locomotives will be transferred to the Traxtion maintenance centre in Pretoria, where they will be upgraded and upgraded from September 2026 prior to commercial operation.
According to the company, this first delivery is the first of four planned shipments under a 1.8 billion rand locomotive acquisition program, plus an investment of R 1.6 billion for the purchase of 920 cars.
This rise comes as the South African government continues to reform the rail sector in order to increase the participation of private operators in freight transport.
The authorities aim to increase rail freight volumes from about 160 million tonnes at present to almost 250 million tonnes per year through better use of the national network and its opening to third-party operators.
The future version 4 of the Rail Network Statement must specify the conditions for access to the network in order to secure long-term investments.
According to Traxtion, this programme should add a transport capacity equivalent to about 4.5 million tonnes of freight per year. Renovation operations will be carried out in South Africa with a local supply rate of 78 per cent and local content estimated at 60 per cent.
The company is also planning to create 665 permanent qualified jobs and install 3,300 horsepower Wabtec engines on locomotives to improve operational performance and reduce emissions.
According to James Holley, Chief Executive Officer of Traxtion, the development of South African rail freight is based on a combination of public reforms and private investments that can sustainably increase network capacity.
