The largest division of Transnet, Transnet Freight Rail (formerly known as Spoornet) bases its core competency on the transportation of freight, containers and mainline passengers on rail.

Freight Rail is currently positioning itself to become a profitable and sustainable freight railway business, assisting in driving the competitiveness of the South African economy. It is made up of six businesses, namely:

• GFB Commercial
• COALlink
• Orex
• Luxrail
• Shosholoza Meyl
• Spoornet International Joint Ventures

The company maintains an extensive rail network across South Africa that connects with other rail networks in the sub-Saharan region, with its rail infrastructure representing about 80% of Africa's total. The company is proud of its reputations for technological leadership beyond Africa as well as within Africa, where it is active in some 17 countries.

GFB Commercial

Known previously as General Freight Business, GFB Commercial is the largest of Freight Rail's business units, accounting for some 70% of its income and handling some 52% of its freight tonnage.

GFB Commercial manages the flow of material and information between suppliers and customers along sections of their supply chains. It strives to integrate the rail component of the supply chain with adjoining components in order to increase supply chain efficiency and reliability at the lowest-possible cost.

COALlink

Coal is a vital export commodity, generating billions of Rands in foreign exchange earnings for South Africa and rightfully deserving its pseudonym 'Black Gold'.

COALlink is a specialist business unit that provides world-class transport for South Africa's export coal from the Mpumalanga coalfields to the Richards Bay coal terminal. It is one of the world's most efficient bulk export logistic supply chains, and its steam-coal export tonnage is second only to Australia’s.

Orex

Orex is a Spoornet specialist business unit dealing with the transport of iron ore over the 861km railway line from Sishento Saldanha. Following the high demand for ore in the export markets, improvements to the line implemented since 1998 have resulted in the capacity of the Orex line being increased from 18 million tons a year to more than 22 million tons a year. A further expansion is now on the drawing board.

Rated in a recent benchmark study as 38% better than the next best-practice operator in its field, Orex is already achieving both its vision and its mission as an international leader in providing world-class, heavy-haul logistics solutions for a growing market.

Luxrail

Luxrail's primary focus is the operation of the world-famous Blue Train, which caters for a growing international tourist market. Some 250 000 travel agents, in 181 countries, voting for the World Travel Awards named the Blue Train the world's leading luxury train. Crossing South Africa's varied landscape along four routes, the train combines the comfort and luxury of a five-star hotel with unparalleled journeys.

Luxrail also manages contracts with other luxury train operators using Freight Rail's infrastructure. These include Rovos Rail, which travels throughout Southern Africa and the Spier, which travels on the Western Cape wine routes.

Shosholoza Meyl

Previously known as Main Line Passenger Services, Shosholoza Meyl provides affordable inter-city passenger rail services to and from South African destinations including Johannesburg, Durban, Makhado, Polokwane, KomatiePoort, East London, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Kimberley and Cape Town.

Services also connect with other Southern African destinations in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland.

Approximately four million passengers a year use Shosholoza Meyl services.

Freight Rail International Joint Ventures

Freight Rail plans to be a global leader in operations on the 1000 mm and 1067 mm (narrow gauge) rail networks of the world, especially in Africa.

Through its railway operations, Freight Rail hopes to become a significant global player in the provision of freight logistics solutions to its customers on the African continent and beyond. The International Joint Ventures (IJV) business is Freight Rail's vehicle for achieving this and other objectives outside the company's normal areas of activity. IJV is responsible for all Freight Rail activities outside South Africa as well as for all non-core activities and joint ventures within South Africa.

For more information, go to Transnet Freight Rail