Six of the Spanish-built AFRO 4000 locomotives that were found to be too high for parts of SA’s rail network are now working flat-out on freight trains for a private operator on the 1,400km Tazara Railway that runs between Tanzania and Zambia.
James Holley, CEO of private locomotive operator Traxtion, which bought the seven engines at auction in 2019, said the locomotives were already proving to be a success.
“Apart from some electrical issues, none of which caused train failure, they have been performing very well,” he said.
Traxtion, a well-established rail business that supplies locomotives, crews and rail services to South African industry and state-owned railway companies in Africa, has a concession to generate freight traffic for another third-party private operator on the Tazara.
Funded and built by China in the late 1970s, the Tazara — also known as the “Uhuru” or Freedom Railway — has long struggled to be viable.
Now, with private operators attracting new freight, the line is finally earning money from the access fees paid by private operators, Holley said.
The route involves a dramatic crossing of the Rift Valley where the single-track line winds over mountains, through numerous tunnels and across dozens of high bridges.
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