Harbours get back to normal with trains running

The state-owned ports of Durban and Richards Bay returned to normal operations this week, while the railway line between Durban and Gauteng has restarted, with 42 trains moving between the two hubs.

Transnet, which holds the rail and port monopoly in SA, was badly disrupted during a week of violence, looting and arson in KwaZulu-Natal but has brought its ports and rail network in the province back to normality in recent days.

The railway line, which handles about a fifth of the cargo moved between Durban and the industrial heartland of Gauteng, reopened on Friday and so far, 42 trains have travelled on it.

“The challenge of cable theft continues unabated, along with community encroachment on the network. To deal with these problems all our trains will be accompanied by security to ensure that we are able to provide a reliable service,” Transnet said.

The largest concern in KwaZulu-Natal has been the shortage of food and medicines, but supplies have started to move around the province since the army was deployed to back up overstretched police forces in hotspots.

INCREASED SECURITY ALONG THE PIPELINE RESULTED IN THE ARREST OF FOUR PEOPLE FOR TAMPERING WITH IT

The N3 freeway between Gauteng and Durban has reopened after it was closed by the looting and burning of trucks at Mooi River in KwaZulu-Natal, a perennial hotspot for truckers.

The latest round of attacks on trucking marked the start of the violence that swept through KwaZulu-Natal last week, sparked by the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the events as a failed insurrection.

Transnet employees who were unable to get to work because of severe transport disruptions in Durban and Richards Bay have all returned to work this week, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We are working towards clearing the backlog … The reinstatement of the supply chain on the key national roads, the N2 and N3, has increased activities at the port terminals,” it said.

Richards Bay, one of the world’s biggest coal terminals, has handled seven ships since the weekend, while in Durban, four ships have been handled with another two at berth and worked by crews.

“Transnet has been engaging all impacted customers throughout this time to ensure that services can resume as quickly as possible and, where required, to deal with bottlenecks caused by the protests,” Transnet said.

Transnet operates a fuel pipeline between Durban and inland destinations. This was unaffected by the violence, and increased security along the pipeline resulted in the arrest of four people for tampering with it on Monday evening.

Transnet has confirmed that this is not linked to the unrest.

In the past two financial years to end-March, there have been an average of 140 incidents of theft from the pipeline a year. Of the 122 people arrested for tampering with the pipeline in the financial years of 2020 and 2021, there has been just one conviction, according to data from Transnet.

In the first three months of the 2022 financial year, there have been 34 incidents of theft, 40 arrests and one conviction, Transnet said.