• Transnet launched a tender to lease three secondary rail lines to private operators in eastern and central South Africa.

• The initiative seeks to mobilize private investment to rehabilitate infrastructure and boost coal and container transport.

• The state group aims to increase rail freight volumes to 250 million tons annually by 2030, from 152 million tons in fiscal 2023/24.

Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) launched a tender to lease three secondary railway lines located in eastern and central South Africa.

The tender invites bidders to submit proposals to operate and develop these rail assets. The process forms part of broader reforms that open the national rail network to private operators.

South African authorities pursue this strategy to mobilize private capital and revive a rail system weakened by years of underperformance. Policymakers also aim to modernize key logistics infrastructure and restore freight flows that support strategic sectors such as mining and container transport.

The tender process aims to attract investment to upgrade infrastructure and increase shipments of coal and containers. Authorities structured the process in several phases. The framework includes prequalification, a functional evaluation and a final assessment based on price and preference criteria.

Bidders must include plans to rehabilitate railway lines and related facilities. These plans must cover loading infrastructure, drainage systems, lighting, security, fencing, access roads and other improvements.

TRIM will base lease payments on market value and will apply safeguards to preserve that value. Bidders must also demonstrate how their projects will reduce downtime and improve efficiency in shifting cargo from road to rail.

TRIM separated from Transnet Freight Railin 2024 as part of structural reforms of South Africa’s logistics system.

Authorities launched these reforms after a prolonged decline in the rail network undermined the performance of several critical sectors of the national economy, particularly the mining industry.

Within this reform agenda, the state-owned group plans to increase rail freight volumes to 250 million tons per year by 2030. The network transported 152 million tons in the 2023/24 fiscal year. By comparison, the system carried 226 million tons in the 2017/18 fiscal year, before infrastructure deterioration disrupted operations.

TRIM set Thursday, April 30as the deadline for submitting bids. The company will also host a non-mandatory virtual briefing sessionfor potential bidders on Friday, March 13.

Henoc Dossa