Transnet resumes limited services on flood-hit rail link

A Transnet Freight Rail train is seen next to tons of coal mined from the nearby Khanye Colliery mine, at the Bronkhorstspruit station, in Bronkhorstspruit, around 90 kilometres north-east of Johannesburg, South Africa, April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

The North East Corridor, which mostly moves chrome, ferrochrome, phosphate and magnetite, links South Africa to Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Transnet said partial service had been restored after "an extensive safety exercise" by its engineers.

Operations commenced "in earnest" on Monday across the network, Transnet said in a statement, with teams "now working on clearing staged trains and the backlog on the Witbank to Richards Bay corridor, a channel for export(ing) coal, chrome and ferrochrome".

Work was still underway to restore service on the remaining part of the network