Transnet is expecting to report rail volumes of about 168-million tons for the 2025/26 financial year, above the 160.1-million tons of the prior year but below the “stretch target” of 180-million tons set for the period.

Briefing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts days before the State-owned company’s March 31 financial year-end, CEO Michelle Phillips said the decline in rail volumes, which slumped to 149.5-million tons in 2022/23, had been arrested as a result of an 18-month recovery plan implemented to the end of March last year.

She said that volumes were poised to continue on an upward trajectory, a trend that would be supported in future by the introduction of private train operating companies (TOCs), 11 of which had been conditionally awarded the right to operate on the network and had been allocated slots on 41 routes across six corridors.

If fully utilised, the slots would raise yearly volumes by 24-million tons, with the first TOCs expected to begin operating in April 2027.

“We believe that by the end of April this year, we will be able to announce the private TOCs that have met all of the requirements and who will then be able to join Transnet in achieving the 250-million-ton target that we have as a country.”

It has been reported previously that Transnet Freight Rail could deliver about 185-million tons of that yearly target, leaving it to TOCs to deliver the other 65-million tons by 2030.

Much would hinge on a recovery in container volumes, with the bulk of such freight currently moved by road owing to large maintenance backlogs on the general freight corridors.

Phillips confirmed that a request for proposals for private-sector participation (PSP) on the key Durban-to-Johannesburg container corridor would be released in the third quarter of the 2026/27 financial year with a goal of fixing the line and concessioning capacity to private operators.

The container corridor was one of four PSP projects highlighted by Transnet in Parliament for implementation in the coming months, with the others identified as the Richards Bay Bulk Terminal, the Ngqura Manganese Export Corridor and Terminal and the establishment of a dedicated LeaseCo to lease surplus rolling stock to TOCs.

However, Transnet also confirmed that it still had hundreds of locomotives out of service, mostly locomotives procured from CRRC of China, with which it remains in legal dispute after conditions linked to a settlement agreement were not met.

A total of 216 of the 481 CRRC locomotives were currently out of service, largely because of the unavailability of spare parts. A contract had been awarded to a step-in supplier to repair 48 locomotives, but only one locomotive had been delivered to date.

Chairperson Dr Andile Sangqu emphasised the priority being given to the structural reforms aimed at improving the performance of South Africa’s ports, railways and fuel pipelines.

This recovery and reform momentum had been supported, he said, by an increase in debt that had been enabled by a government guarantee of over R145-billion.

Transnet said debt would peak in 2025/26 at below the R156.7-billion indicated previously and it said plans were in place to reduce debt to R107-billion by 2030.

Addressing the committee, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy insisted that the government guarantees would not be called, arguing that improvements in volumes were supporting increases in revenues and earnings that would enable the group to begin paying down debt.

In addition, the group was targeting some R3.6-billion in noncore disinvestments and would use some of the proceeds to repay debt.