By Eamonn Ryan, derived from the podcast
In a podcast hosted by Peter Bruce of FM, Jamie Holley, CEO of Traxion, shared insights into the challenges and opportunities in the South African rail logistics sector. This article explores the challenges and opportunities within South Africa’s rail system, offering insights that are highly relevant to the cold chain industry. This is Part 5 of a 12-part series.
Holley delves deeper into the complexities of the rail industry, comparing South Africa’s rail system to global standards. Reflecting on his father’s experience as a building contractor, Holley recalls how goods, even something as simple as nails, had to be transported by rail due to the strict controls of the apartheid era. In those days, the rail system was a vital part of the economy, with the government ensuring that everything, from construction materials to consumer goods, moved via the railway network. However, Holley also acknowledges that much has changed since those times, especially as the rail industry entered a more deregulated era following the end of apartheid. With the decline of the once robust system, South Africa’s rail industry is now facing significant challenges in the context of modern logistics and global competition.
The challenge of skills and systems
One of the key challenges facing the South African rail industry, as Holley points out, is the skills gap. The industry requires highly specialised workers to maintain and operate the trains and systems. However, the decline in training and investment over the years has left a noticeable shortage of skilled personnel, a gap that companies like Traxion are trying to address with their own training programmes. Despite this, the question remains: Does South Africa have the necessary talent to run an effective rail system?
Globally, the rail industry is increasingly recognised for its critical role in the movement of goods. Holley highlights how rail freight increased by 79% globally in the years leading up to 2020, emphasising that rail is as essential today as it was in the past. However, there are differences in how various regions operate their rail systems. While Europe has an efficient and well-functioning passenger rail network, particularly for long-haul and metro systems, freight rail systems tend to operate more efficiently in countries like the US, Canada and Australia. These nations have managed to optimise their rail networks for freight transportation, creating systems that operate at a high degree of efficiency.
Technology and innovation in rail systems
While the fundamental technology behind locomotives has remained relatively unchanged in recent years, with the engine technology and subcomponents remaining simple, Holley emphasises the advancements in telemetry systems and early warning signals for commodities such as perishables as the primary drivers of efficiency in modern rail systems. These technologies allow for better maintenance and performance tracking of each component, resulting in more reliable and faster trains.
Holley discusses the concept of Positive Train Control (PTC), which is widely used in North America. PTC is a technology that allows trains to interact with each other and the central control system, ensuring that they maintain a safe following distance and communicate constantly. With this technology, trains can operate much closer to each other, increasing the density and efficiency of the system. This kind of innovation is what has helped transform rail operations in regions like North America, where the rail industry has seen substantial improvements in performance, despite reducing the overall track length by half since the 1980s.
In contrast, South Africa is still operating with outdated systems that limit the country’s rail network’s potential. Holley views this as a major opportunity for growth, emphasising that applying the advancements seen in other parts of the world could significantly improve South Africa’s rail system.