South Africa and Botswana have agreed on joint development initiatives to be implemented by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and Botswana Railways (BR), to improve trade between the two countries, following a high-level business roundtable.
The initiatives will also allow landlocked, and coal-rich, Botswana to access South African ports in a more efficient manner.
Transnet and Botswana Railways will collaborate to fix parts of the 126km rail line between Swartruggens and Mafikeng, enabling heavy-haul trains traveling from Botswana to reach the ports of Richards Bay and Durban for export markets.
“This will be funded jointly by the two governments, with TFR and BR given the responsibility to implement the initiative. The objective is to have the project running in the next 24 months,”Transnet said in a statement.
Transnet and Botswana Railways will further collaborate on security interventions to curb cable theft and infrastructure vandalism – a growing problem in Botswana and rampant in South Africa, which impacts the efficient operation of trains.
