South Africa unveils National Rail Master Plan to revitalize rail network
via The Namibian5 min read
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has introduced the National Rail Master Plan NRMP, aiming to position rail as the backbone of South Africa's logistics and transport ecosystem. The plan seeks to build a resilient, adaptable, and dynamically scalable rail system to serve the nation's economic and social goals. The Department of Transport Strategic Plan and the NRMP target increasing annual freight volumes on the Transnet rail network to 250 million tonnes by 2030, from the current 160-167 million tonnes. Both documents advocate for the vertical separation of rail infrastructure from operations and the establishment of the Rail Infrastructure Manager Trim as a Transnet subsidiary, which will grant open, non-discriminatory network access to private sector participation and third-party train operating companies. The plan also highlights the importance of the National Rail Bill and the Transport Economic Regulator. Transnet Group CEO Michelle Phillips noted that the organization has faced infrastructure deterioration, equipment shortages, governance failures, and financial constraints. The NRMP proposes a differentiated funding model, with freight rail operating on a commercial, user-pays basis with private sector investment, while passenger rail requires direct government subsidies for affordable mobility. A significant challenge for Transnet includes outstanding advance payments of R4.2 billion for 305 electric and diesel locomotives from CRRC entities, whose contracts are susp
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Namibian.
American 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus secured his second Diamond League 800m victory in Oslo, narrowly beating Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi with a dive across the finish line. Lutkenhaus achieved a new personal best and the world's best performance of the year at 1:42.08. In the 200m, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo claimed victory with a time of 19.84 seconds, ahead of Australian 18-year-old Gout Gout, who finished sixth in his Diamond League debut. Tebogo offered advice to Gout Gout, suggesting he should continue competing with his age group to avoid potential injuries. Other notable results from the Oslo meeting included Julien Alfred's win in the 100m, though the wind speed invalidated it as a world-leading time, and Alison dos Santos's victory over local star Karsten Warholm in the 400m hurdles.
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