Lothair Line makes headway

MBABANE – Construction
on the new Lothair Line –
which Swaziland Railway
has partnered with Transnet
Freight Rail (TFR) on – has
begun and is expected to be
completed by 2022.
Swaziland Railway was able
to overcome a major obstacle
to the project by negotiating
the resettlement of farmers
and residents in Swazi Nation
Land. The railway operator
successfully negotiated
with traditional leaders
representing those who will be
displaced by the development
of the line, which will connect
Gauteng with Maputo via
Swaziland.
The announcement was
made last week by Swaziland
Railway when it presented
its first-quarter results,
announcing a 27% firstquarter
profit above budget as
well as the commissioning of
90 new wagons to expand the
operator’s rolling stock.
“Swaziland Railway had
to rely on her neighbouring
railways for locomotives and
specialised wagons in the past,”
said Swaziland’s Minister of
Public Works and Transport,
Lindiwe Dlamini.
The new wagons will
be used for oil transport.
Landlocked Swaziland receives
all its petrol and petroleum
products from South Africa.
Much of the transport has been
done by rail, but Swaziland
Railway expects to command
a larger share of the transport
market by offering reliable and
cost-efficient delivery with its
fuel wagons.
“The company’s commercial
and marketing divisions will
market this additional capacity
and work to ensure that trains
are run on time to achieve
reliability and predictability,”
Dlamini said.
She also announced that
the railway operator had
appointed a new board of
directors, with Mduduzi Gina
appointed chairman of the
board, which strategises with
the company’s administration,
led by CEO, Stephenson
Ngubane.