Cable theft forces Transnet Freight Rail to shut its North Corridor, affecting coal exports

It doesn’t rain but pours for Transnet Freight Rail as the state entity suffered another cable theft blow earlier this week. 

In a statement, TFR said it had to close its North Corridor after it was hit by two major incidents of cable theft late on the night of September 6, leading to the line’s closure for 18 hours. 

The corridor, which runs from Lephalale in Limpopo, through Gauteng and Mpumalanga, to Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, accounts for over 40% of the volume transported by TFR, including commodities such as export coal. 

The rail authority says the first incident took place in Mswaneni between Vryheid and Ulundi on a tunnel bypass and the incident was extensive and included five spans of catenary wire stolen. 

On top of that, Transnet announced that five spans of contact wire were vandalised and five spans of steelwork were damaged. 

“At approximately 22:50 last night (Tuesday), Transnet Freight Rail’s North Corridor, which runs from Lephalale in Limpopo, through Gauteng and Mpumalanga, to Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal was hit by two major incidents of cable theft,” Transnet said. 

“One incident took place in Mswaneni between Vryheid and Ulundi on a tunnel bypass. The theft was extensive and included five spans of catenary [overhead, electrical] wire stolen, five spans of contact wire vandalised and five spans of steelwork damaged. 

“Transnet Freight Rail has resultantly had to close the line to clear the load on the track, which will take approximately eight hours. Once the load has been cleared, repairs to the line are expected to take 10 hours.” 

The company said it was forced to close the line for about eight hours to clear the load on the track and will remain shut to repair the line. 

Mining Weekly reports that the second incident involved an attempted theft of cable at Mkhondo, which required two hours to repair. 

“These incidents are a clear indication that TFR is under siege from organised crime across the country,” the utility said in a statement, noting that about 1 500 km of cable was stolen during its 2022 financial year, with a net negative financial impact of R4.1-billion. 

Meanwhile, Transnet said several measures had been put in place to counteract the ongoing theft, including the use of drones and tactical task teams. 

Main Image: Transnet Freight Rail/George Herald