A presentation done by Mr Andre Botha (Chairman: SASTALC) at the Transport Forum SIG 4 June 2015 hosted by University of Johannesburg. The theme for the event was: "Back to Rail - a Critical Analysis" and the topic for the presentation was: "What belongs where"

1. What belongs where?
Andre Botha
Chairman of SASTaLC

2. Discussion of today
• Rail history – Cargo on rail and why
• Why cargo migrated
• Cargo movement
• What is happening internationally
• What is the drivers of freight cargo and passenger rail
• What belongs on rail – rail friendly cargo
• Cargo types for rail freight
• People and rail
• Are we getting there

3. Rail history – Cargo on
rail and why?
• Merchandised rail began 1820’s
in the industrial era and steam
locomotives
The Trevithick’s steam
engine. First locomotive
• First sign of rail wagon by the
Greeks and they had wagon
ways 1500-1800
• Stimulated the economy and the
transport of good that created a
social change
• First passengers on board 1842
• South Africa’s first rail track 1850
- 3.2 km from Durban to
harbour point
Greek wagonways

4. “A good horse on an ordinary turnpike
road can draw two thousand pounds, or
one ton. A party of gentlemen were
invited to look upon the experiment, that
the superiority of the new road might be
established by ocular demonstration.
Twelve wagons were loaded with stones,
till each wagon weighed three tons, and
the wagons were fastened together. A
horse was then attached, which drew the
wagons with ease, six miles in two hours,
having stopped four times, in order to
show he had the power of starting, as well
as drawing his great load.”
Rail history – Cargo on
rail and why?
Reduction in friction was one of the
major reasons for the success of
railroads compared to wagons. This
was demonstrated on an iron plate-
covered wooden tramway in 1805
at Croydon in England
Fling, Harry M. (1868). Railroads of the United States, Their History and
Statistics. Philadelphia: John. E. Potter and Co. pp. 12, 13.
Train load of coal

5. Why freight cargo migrated
• Core driver for a service is the customer requirements
• Customer focus and strategy – JIT
• Capitalise on speed
• On time delivery
• Throughput handling and delivery efficiency
• Network or service provider offering deficiencies
• Capacity constrains
• Flexibility
• Security
• Not just price – added reliability
• Need for infrastructure – In SA
State of Logistics Survey for
SA - Report 1-10

6. Freight cargo movement
9th State of Logistics Survey for SA 2012
Rail market share since 2003

7. What happened internationally and why?
Rail transport marker research report (March 2013)
State of Logistics Survey in SA (2008)
World Bank (2014)
• Freight cargo in UK and Europe migrated
• Freight Cargo in the USA did not migrate
• Factors that caused migration
• Globalisation and predictability
• Containerisation duel role and influence
Underlying matters –
If service delivery is poor, good service connectivity is not good enough

8. What is the drivers for passenger services and freight rail
Passengers
• Population
• Energy
• Economy – Growth and Globalisation
• Technology
• Social Choices
Freight rail
• Volumes to be moved
• Cost
• Logistics supply chain dynamics
• Technology
• Customer preferences and strategy
Amadeus rail report (2013)

9. What belongs on rail
• Does all cargo belong on rail ?
Havenga JH, Simpson Z, Fourie PF and De Bod A (2007)
• What is rail friendly cargo?
• Dr De Villiers, Prof Jan Havenga
• Definition –
• Cargo with freight uniformity
• Long distance
• Density
• Terminal density

10. Cargo types for rail
Havenga JH (2007)
• Traditional – Bulk commodities
• Coal, Iron ore, minerals, magnetite
chrome ore etc.
• Steel, grain and cement
• Automotive
• Palletised cargo – Food beverages, textile,
parts
• Containerised cargo – Unitised in the
container – Light bulk and precious break bulk
– Zinc, copper
Prof Havenga wrote an article –
Rail renaissance based on strategic
segmentation (2012)

11. People and rail
Amadeus rail report (2013)
• Drivers that shift people towards rail
• Urbanisation
• Technology – High speed trains
• People awareness for the need to go
green
• Distribution and network is better
High speed train for freight cargo and not
airfreight

12. Are we getting there?
Thompson L (2010)
• China and India – passenger freight is
increasing
• Europe + USA + Japan
Stable growth in freight transport and
passenger transport, passenger transport
growth is lower than freight
South Africa ?

13. Are we getting there?
• Who knows ?
• Economical and political recognition
• Eskom Road to Rail
• Mpumalanga freight reduction
• National Development Plan and infrastructure
drive
• Transnet Long Term Planning Framework
(MDS)
• Carbon emission and taxes
• Data do not show but the preparation look
that it is surely moving in the right direction

14. Thank you
What
belongs
where?