Towards the end of 2009, South Africa’s ever-vacillating Department of Transport (DoT) having only recently relaxed maximum permissible vehicle mass regulations, announced sweeping new strategies to limit the conveyance of commodities by road. The broad objective is to force the use of rail instead. The country’s roads, apparently, are in such poor shape that some may fall apart within five years, due to lack of funds for maintenance.

The condition of many branch lines, unfortunately, is little better. Few of those closed during recent years are candidates for revival unless virtually rebuilt from scratch. From the moment when trains stop running, the vandals and thieves move in, helping themselves to sleepers and station roofs, cutting rail into stealable lengths; not infrequently burning or smashing anything they cannot cart away.

Among facts of life that few seem to grasp, traffic once lost to the road is extremely difficult to win back. Were DoT serious in its intent, an instant embargo should have been placed on further branchline closures.

No such luck. After a Transnet Freight Rail working on 18 January 2010, we are told, to clear remaining rolling stock, there was to be no further activity on the line running south from Pietermaritzburg to Donnybrook. Extending 302km to Matatiele not all that long ago, with its own branches to Underberg and Kokstad (and not forgetting the narrow gauge east of Donnybrook), this too appears to have joined the growing list of minor lines in South Africa that have seen their last train.

Related posts:

1. SAFETY REGULATOR SUPPORTS LINE CLOSURE
2. TRANSITION BEAMS FOR ORE LINE
3. CAPE TOWN CONTAINER TERMINAL
4. EAST CAPE RAIL REVAMP
5. TRANSNET DEFINES ITS LINES
6. CAPE TOWN STATION REVAMP