Establish Transport Economic Regulator
The Economic Regulation of Transport Act 6 of 2024 was signed into law by President Ramaphosa on 11 June 2024, providing the legal foundation for the Transport Economic Regulator. The act establishes the TER as a public entity with comprehensive powers to regulate pricing, monitor tariffs and ensure transparency across the transport sector. However, the…
read more >>Develop National Rail Bill
The Department of Transport aims to draft a National Rail Bill. This will be an important piece of legislation to oversee all aspects of rail reform. HALTED: We stopped tracking this specific reform at end-June 2025 and merged it with a similar reform, “Finalise the National Rail Bill to establish a legal framework for a…
read more >>Establish independent infrastructure manager
TRIM is an interim structure and not yet a permanent and fully independent entity. It currently operates under Transnet Group but is tasked with facilitating open access to the rail network, including granting access to third-party train operators, which is a significant step towards rail sector reform and market liberalisation. TRIM is currently listed as…
read more >>Rail Network Statement
Transnet (TRIM) published the final Network Statement on 19 December 2024. HALTED: We stopped tracking this reform at end-June 2025 and have merged into a related reform, “Enable open access to the freight rail network”.
read more >>Finalise the Network Statement
The final Network Statement setting out technical, operational and commercial rules for rail access was published on 20 December 2024 following extensive consultation and the promulgation of the Economic Regulation of Transport Act (ERT Act). Revisions in February 2025 clarified capacity allocation and transformation principles, opening all slots with over 209Mt of capacity available to…
read more >>Establish the private sector participation (PSP) unit
The PSP Unit was mandated by the Rail Private Sector Participation Framework, adopted by Cabinet in December 2023. An interim unit has been established and is currently hosted by the DBSA, with a permanent arrangement being finalised. The unit has issued RFIs for opportunities in five priority rail and port corridors in March 2025. These…
read more >>Identify and pursue appropriate PSP models for the rail network
The Freight Logistics Roadmap, alongside the White Paper on National Rail Policy, explicitly embraces a mix of PSP models: open access, concessions and investment partnerships, with the aim of unlocking capital and operational expertise. Current RFIs aim to gather market input on the most viable concession models for different corridors and assets. The Pier 2…
read more >>National Rail Bill
The White Paper on National Rail Policy (2022) was developed and gazetted for implementation in 2022. The Economic Regulation of Transport (ERT) Act, which was signed into law in June 2024, has not been fully enacted. The White Paper sets a 2050 vision for a competitive, integrated and sustainable rail system, calling for third-party access,…
read more >>Pathway to 193MT
The 193Mt served as an internal ‘stretch target’ beyond the official 170Mt goal for 2024/25. Transnet moved 161Mt by March 2025, showing progress from the 151.7Mt achieved in 2023/24. However, performance remains well below the 193MT stretch target and even the 170MT official target and, despite gradual recovery, remains well behind the record 226Mt in…
read more >>Corridor recovery teams
Corridor recovery teams (CRTs) have been established, which include Transnet’s managing executives, Operation Vulindlela, the Department of Public Enterprises, industry representatives and independent experts. These teams have developed delivery plans with specific actions and timeframes to achieve targeted freight volume increases. The CRTs are tasked to develop a detailed delivery plan to improve safety and security as…
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