Transnet has been lauded for the repair work to four major areas of the railway and port operations. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan applauded the company for the significant progress after the colossal damages by the April floods.

According to a statement by the Department of Public Enterprise (DPE), the repairs included 11 areas damaged on the railway line which had to be reconstructed between Durban and Cato Ridge. The repair work also included the reconstruction of parts of Bayhead Road where 60m of the road had collapsed, the creation of a new access road to the Port of Durban and maintenance of the railway line which was brought forward. Significantly, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has reopened a single line on the Container Corridor between Durban and Cato Ridge, where operations had been suspended following the floods.

This means that rail operations on the Container Corridor- a key economic node which moves freight between Gauteng and Durban - will now resume on the single line.

According to DPE additional capacity will be unlocked on the mainline in September when repairs on the second line are completed and it is reopened to traffic.

As part of the second phase of the rehabilitation project, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has successfully commissioned the fourth lane on Bayhead Road, at the Durban Port.

TNPA has identified an alternative bypass road leading to the Durban Container Terminals and the Island View Complex to ensure that Bayhead Road is relieved of congestion going forward.

Work on the alternative bypass road is expected to be concluded towards the end of November 2022.

TFR is currently moving staged loads between Durban and Cato Ridge, which were prevented from reaching their destinations during the floods. Once completed, flows between City Deep and Durban will commence. The opening of the line took a workforce complement of 2 673, working over 60 days to achieve this milestone.

The recovery from the damage caused by the flooding will enable exporters and importers that utilise the port of Durban to return to normality, and Transnet will endeavour to ensure that all shipping lines continue to service the Port of Durban. Much work still needs to be done in the south basin area, and Transnet continues to work with the province, Municipality, and other stakeholders in that area to ensure this work is concluded speedily.