Mar 26, 2023
S. Africa’s Transnet Suspends Iron-Ore Railway on Storm Damage
Bloomberg News
,![The locomotive of a Transnet SOC Ltd. freight train transports wagons of coal from the Mafube open-cast coal mine, operated by Exxaro Resources Ltd. and Thungela Resources Ltd., towards Richard's Bay coal terminal, in Mpumalanga, South Africa on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. South Africa relies on coal to generate more than 80% of its electricity, and has been subjected to intermittent outages since 2008 because state utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. can't meet demand from its old and poorly maintained plants. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg, Bloomberg The locomotive of a Transnet SOC Ltd. freight train transports wagons of coal from the Mafube open-cast coal mine, operated by Exxaro Resources Ltd. and Thungela Resources Ltd., towards Richard's Bay coal terminal, in Mpumalanga, South Africa on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. South Africa relies on coal to generate more than 80% of its electricity, and has been subjected to intermittent outages since 2008 because state utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. can't meet demand from its old and poorly maintained plants. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg](/polopoly_fs/1.1900597.1679821790!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/the-locomotive-of-a-transnet-soc-ltd-freight-train-transports-wagons-of-coal-from-the-mafube-open-cast-coal-mine-operated-by-exxaro-resources-ltd-and-thungela-resources-ltd-towards-richard-s-bay-coal-terminal-in-mpumalanga-south-africa-on-thursday-sept-29-2022-south-africa-relies-on-coal-to-generate-more-than-80-of-its-electricity-and-has-been-subjected-to-intermittent-outages-since-2008-because-state-utility-eskom-holdings-soc-ltd-can-t-meet-demand-from-its-old-and-poorly-maintained-plants-photographer-waldo-swiegers-bloomberg.jpg)
(Bloomberg) -- South African state-owned rail operator Transnet SOC Ltd. said it has suspended operations along its iron-ore corridor to Saldanha since Thursday due to bad weather.
Around 600 meters of overhead track equipment was damaged in the Western and Northern Cape provinces and employees also had to be airlifted out after being stranded, Transnet said in a statement on Saturday.
The rail operator said Transnet Freight Rail suffered damage after thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail and high winds caused flash floods, cutting off access to a 150 km section of the railway.
Transnet Snubs Anglo Unit’s Overture to Run Iron Ore Line
The ore corridor, which also transports manganese, coal and others commodities, stretches 861 kilometers (535 miles) from Sishen in the Northern Cape to Saldanha Bay on the West Coast.
The company gave no indication of when operations will resume.
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