Transnet Freight Rail says it has run the longest freight train ever operated: 696 wagons stretching about 7.6 kilometres, on its Iron Ore Export Line between Saldanha Bay and the Northern Cape. The train ran over the weekend of 17 and 18 October, according to News24. Transnet claims it beats the previous record, a 7.353-kilometre, 682-wagon BHP Iron Ore train in Western Australia in 2001. The claim is Transnet’s own, and independent certification has not been confirmed.
How the train was run
The train was made up of 696 empty ore wagons, hauled by Class 15E electric and Class 43D diesel-electric locomotives placed at different points along its length. Trains magazine reports that it used a radio distributed power setup, which Transnet says spreads traction and braking forces across the train and keeps it stable. Transnet did not say how many locomotives were used. The run was led by the company’s train design and operations teams, working with Transnet Engineering, the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager and the Railway Safety Regulator. It followed the line’s annual maintenance shutdown from 6 to 16 October.
What the record does and does not show
The comparison is not like for like. The BHP train in 2001 was loaded, with a total weight of about 99,700 tonnes, which is also a record. Transnet’s train carried no ore. Transnet itself has said the real value of the run lies in the technical and operational knowledge gained from running such a long formation. The company also held the record before: its 7.2-kilometre train in 1989 on the same line was then the longest and heaviest.
A train this long shows that distributed-power control can keep very long formations safe. It does not show that the line can run them routinely. That depends on track condition, loop lengths and terminal handling, which neither Transnet’s announcement nor the reports address.
The line matters more than the record
The Iron Ore Export Line is the 861-kilometre corridor that connects the Sishen mines to the port of Saldanha. The government is funding an R8.9 billion Ore Line Restoration Programme aimed at restoring the line’s reliability by 2030, with about R3.4 billion allocated through the Budget Facility for Infrastructure over the next two financial years, News24 reports. The programme covers track renewal, electrical and signalling upgrades and the repair of rolling stock. Transnet has also spent R1.47 billion on maintaining the ore line’s rolling stock, according to BusinessTech.
That is the more useful measure for exporters. A record run shows what the equipment can do, but regular, reliable loaded trains decide how much ore reaches the port. The next markers are whether the record is independently certified, whether very long loaded trains ever enter regular service, and whether the restoration programme meets its milestones. More coverage is in our Business section.
