Transnet’s iron ore corridor ‘severely disrupted’ by cable theft and derailment

Thieves stole 23 spans of cable on the Kolomela line in the Northern Cape on Sunday night.

OPERATIONS on the Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) Iron Corridor have been severely disrupted due to a derailment and a separate incident of cable theft, the Transnet subsidiary said in a statement.

The iron ore railway line is 861km long and runs between Sishen in the Northern Cape and Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape. The line was specially built to be able to run heavy iron ore trains. Mining clients that use the TFR include Exxaro, Kumba Iron Ore, and Thungela Resources among others.

Both events significantly impacted its ability to continue with normal operations, causing inconvenience and delays to its customers.

"At about 2.05am (Monday, June 5), 20 iron-ore loaded wagons derailed between Loops 9 and 10. Our teams are currently trying to establish the cause of the derailment. Dedicated rail network and operations teams have been mobilised to assess the situation, initiate recovery efforts, and restore normal operations as swiftly as possible," it said.

In a separate incident on Sunday night, thieves stole 23 spans of cable on the Kolomela line in the Northern Cape.

"Our security and overhead traction equipment (OHTE) teams responded promptly. Law enforcement agencies also have been alerted about the incident. Efforts are under way to normalise operations as soon as possible," the TFR said.

The TFR apologised for the inconvenience caused and said it would continue to provide regular updates as new information became available.

In March, the TFR had to close the corridor due to adverse weather conditions.

This was after it announced in February that major renewal work had been completed, which was undertaken during the annual maintenance shutdown in November, 2022.

– BUSINESS REPORT