Third party access to SA railway will give the industry a boost

The proposed regulatory amendments greenlighting, third party access to Transnet’s rail network infrastructure will give the industry a much-needed financial boost. This is according to Chief Executive Officer at the African Rail Industry Association (ARIA), Mesela Nhlapo, who tells the Business Hour that giving third parties access to the main rail infrastructure, will enable them to pay access fees – the equivalent to toll fees.

Nhlapo also revealed that the rail industry is very low on the state’s priority list, due to the overwhelming obligations in the education and health sector amongst other service delivery service departments. This has led to a complete collapse in railway infrastructure in South Africa due to the absence of maintenance. The African Rail Industry Association CEO says that it’s not that officials are indifferent to maintenance, there simply isn’t any money.