Back to Basics For African Rail
Unlocking the potential of regional railways undoubtedly lies first in going back to the basics, said Kudzanayi Bangure, rail project manager at Nepad Business Foundation, during his keynote address on the second day of Breakbulk Africa in Johannesburg.
While Africa is earmarked for rapid growth and urbanization, there is concern that the continent’s existing rail network cannot keep up with the pace of moving large volumes of cargo over long distances. Countries are also having to rethink their industrialization ambitions as a result of the global economic slowdown, drought and power supply concerns.
However, Bangure is optimistic that targets can still be achieved if key players adopt a more incremental approach to improving rail networks.
“We need to look at maximizing existing infrastructure before embarking on major improvements. This approach has worked well in South Africa,” he explained. “It makes sense when you consider that most railway lines only carry 15 percent of cargo throughout the continent. In fact, most only operate at 10 percent capacity. So why not maximize their potential?”
Addressing the high-level audience, Bangure stressed the need for a balance in transporting breakbulk by road and rail. Moving traffic off road onto rail also lowers the carbon footprint, he added.
Using the North South Corridor, or NSC, Railway Lines as a case in point, Bangure explained that given the funding challenges, the incremental approach is helping to achieve a seamless logistics offering between the two regions. The current NSC rail service is anticipated to deliver up to 1.3 tonnes per annum by the end of 2016. The masterplan aims to investigate and develop an infrastructure investment plan that will allow rail to tap into a total freight volume market estimated to be 26 mtpa.
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