THE view from the 49th floor of Transnet's Johannesburg headquarters is impressive. The city sprawls out on all sides and those with an eye for such things will immediately note the big yard to the north - where lines of passenger coaches are a reminder of South Africa's once vibrant long-distance passenger train service - and to the south, the vast City Deep terminal through which 60% of Gauteng province's container traffic currently flows.
A new board of directors at TransNamib is providing a life-line to Namibia's railway, which has suffered from decades of under-investment in its network and fleet, as Paul Ash reports from Windhoek.
With new locomotives and EMUs set to revitalise its dilapidated fleet, Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa is starting to overcome decades of underinvestment. Yet more is required to meet the needs of a growing and increasingly urban population, as group CEO Lucky Montana reveals in an exclusive interview with Paul Ash.
Transnet Freight Rail is investing unprecedented amounts in new assets. Paul Ash speaks to chief executive Siyabonga Gama about the state-owned railway's bold plan to win traffic back from South Africa's roads.
Several companies are benefiting from what is being dubbed a railway renaissance in Africa as new opportunities emerge in markets across the continent buoyed by a rush for mineral wealth. But things are far from simple, as Paul Ash explains.
Rail corridors are breathing new life into the ancient trade route between east and west and could reinvigorate Georgian Railway. Paul Ash reports from Tbilisi on how GR is seeking to capitalise on the movement of freight between Asia and Europe.
SOUTH AFRICAN state-owned rail and port operator Transnet has secured a Rand 6bn ($US 563m) funding guarantee from US export credit agency US-Exim to fund the acquisition of 233 diesel-electric locomotives from GE Transportation.
Despite considerable investment to upgrade its Richards Bay coal line, Transnet is under continuing pressure from both mining companies and the port terminal to boost capacity even further, reports Paul Ash.
Huge and largely untapped coal reserves look set to revive the fortunes of Botswana Railways which until recently had been staring extinction in the face, as Paul Ash discovers.
In their rush to extract western Africa's vast mineral wealth, mining companies are revitalising existing, and building new, heavy-haul rail lines. Paul Ash presents a comprehensive round-up of the latest activities in the region.
