Quantifying the Economic Benefits of Changing the Gauteng to Durban Railway Corridor from Narrow to Standard Gauge

Abstract

Railway gauge has been a topic of discussion for many years within Transnet and the Department of Transport. At the recent 2018 South African Heavy Haul Association’s Technical Workshop, a statement was made regarding the future of South Africa’s railway network and whether it should be upgraded from its current state, which is narrow gauge, to standard gauge. The National Rail Policy White Paper and other publications by the Department of Transport also addresses the contentious gauge issue in detail. This paper seeks to investigate various rail gauge alternatives which could be implemented along the Natal freight rail corridor. These alternatives include investigating the upgrading of the corridor’s narrow gauge to standard gauge, leaving the corridor as is and constructing a brand-new standard gauge line parallel to the current narrow gauge line and lastly performing upgrades as per Transnet’s plans published in the Market Demand Strategy. This paper analyses each alternative and provides recommendations on what will be required in a more detailed feasibility study of each of the alternatives. The results indicate that from the alternatives evaluated, a single standard gauge line constructed parallel to the narrow gauge line could provide the greatest benefit on the Gauteng to Durban corridor.