Namibia’s government-owned railway company, TransNamib has revealed that freight volume increased by 26% and revenue also increased by 19% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2024.
TransNamib’s commercial and marketing executive, Kendall Swartz, said in an interview that the total freight moved in the first quarter of 2025 was 330,410 tons compared to 262,362 tons in the same quarter of 2024.
In May, Minister of Works and Transport, Veikko Nekundi, said the government had cancelled TransNamib’s plan to buy 23 new locomotives for N$1.7 billion, because he feared the risks in sourcing from one supplier. TransNamib had earlier announced this year that it was planning to buy General Electric locomotives (Wabtec).
Swartz said following the cancellation of the earlier locomotive procurement tender, TransNamib has been working closely with stakeholders, including funders and technical advisors, to review and update the procurement strategy to ensure compliance, value for money and alignment with operational requirements.
He said the government has instructed TransNamib to diversify its fleet. As such, the company has gone out into the market to source a rail consultant to support this process.
Swartz said a revised approach for acquiring the 23 locomotives is under development, and the procurement process is expected to be reinitiated in the coming months, subject to approvals from its financiers and the relevant governance structures.
Namibia’s rail network stretches a total length of 2687 km across the country, only about 48% of the rail network meets the minimum SADC stipulated standard of 18.5 tons/axle load. The remaining sections are between 16.5 and 17.5 tons/axle load.
TransNamib has, over the past three years, transported an average of 1.3 to 1.5 million tonnes of freight annually, amounting to only 12% of the total national freight volume, according to the ministry’s budget for the financial year 2025/2026. The government has allocated N$825 million will be allocated to the development of the transportation Infrastructure programme.
TransNamib specialises in the transportation of bulk, break bulk, containerised freight and passengers utilising rail transport. The company’s rail infrastructure is connected to the ports of Lüderitz and Walvis Bay.
TransNamib has embarked on an ambitious plan to nearly triple its cargo-carrying capacity to four million tonnes within the next five years, equating to approximately 1.5 million tonnes per year. However, in its appeals for funding from the government, the company has said the current locomotive availability of 23-26 locomotives, impacted by ageing rolling stock, falls short of the reliability needed to achieve this target.
Written by Chamwe Kiara
