A Request for Proposal has been issued for the appointment of a service provider to conduct a detailed survey for the 1,376 km rail container corridor from City Deep (Gauteng) to the Port of Durban (KZN). The survey is expected to provide condition-based evidence to support the planning and prioritisation of essential maintenance work, enabling informed decision-making to achieve the network’s nameplate capacity.
The Container Corridor has long been considered the backbone of South Africa’s overall rail freight network. It connects and interfaces with the North Corridor, Cape Corridor, and Central Corridor, serving as a critical logistics enabler for import and export freight transportation, as well as a key contributor to economic growth.
Freight volumes transported on the Corridor have decreased significantly over the last few years, from 12.6 Mtpa in 2017/18 to 6.7 Mtpa in 2024/25, resulting in a revenue drop from R2.6 bn to R1.3 bn.
Several factors have contributed to the decline, including locomotive and spare parts shortages, cable theft and vandalism and infrastructure degradation.
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