Minerals have been good to
Swaziland Railway, boosting
revenues by 25% from last
year, and the conveniently located
rail line offering shorter passage
from mines to eastern ports has
been good for regional mineral
transport.
A projected cargo tonnage of 6.5
million this year, up a quarter from
2011, is due to the movement of
iron ore from Mpaka, Swaziland
Railway’s rail head in central
Swaziland, to Maputo or Richards
Bay. The ore is locally mined,
which significantly boosts domestic
volumes for a rail system that
has previously earned 90% of its
revenues from transit cargo.
“We expect to move 1.2 million
tons for the full year. The iron ore
is mined in Ngwenya and has been
trucked to Mpaka since March
2012. At first it went straight to
Maputo but now another route is to
send the ore to Richards Bay, which
can accommodate larger vessels
than Maputo. Because minerals are
raw materials you want to ship in
very big vessels to keep unit costs
low,” Stephenson Ngubane, acting
CEO for Swaziland Railways, told
FTW.
“It is actually very encouraging
because we want Swaziland to be
more active in terms of volumes we
ship. We have closer control over
shipments if the cargo originates
locally. Transit traffic originates
in other countries. The other
railways may find they are short on
resources like engines, and this can
result in delays,” said Ngubane.
However, transit traffic
remains the primary utilisation of
Swaziland’s rail line, and Ngubane
is in constant discussions with rail
executives of the countries shipping
or receiving minerals via Swaziland
Railway, including Mozambique,
South Africa, Zambia and
Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is also a
recipient of containerised cargo
shipped through Swaziland.
CAPTION
Rolling stock and containers at Swaziland Railway’s Matsapha depot against a
backdrop of misty Mt Mdzimba, sacred burial spot for Swazi royalty.
