A team of 25 engineers and operations executives, led by the Transnet's chairperson Dr. Popo Molefe, will attend the International Heavy Haul Association (IHHA) Conference in Norway this week.  

The company said on Monday it was steaming ahead with its vision of being part of the top five railway companies in the world.   

The conference will be attended by more than 500 global rail experts and professionals and Transnet will be among the 180 technical experts to present papers on technological advancement on the competitiveness of heavy haul rail operations.

Molefe said the conference will be a great platform for Transnet to learn from global counterparts.

"Despite recent challenges at Transnet related to malfeasance, the organization remains a solid business, which is an anchor to our country’s economy," Molefe said.

"The IHHA Conference in Norway, is a great opportunity for Transnet and South Africa to showcase local technical and technology advancements to the global community. It is also an opportunity for us to learn the latest best practices from our global counterparts." 

The platform will provide these experts an opportunity to share and exchange knowledge and experience with other country-members of IHHA such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the US.

Transnet, which operates more than 30,000 kilometres of rail network across the country, holds a record of the longest production train in the world. 

The company has recently broken its own record by testing a 375-wagon manganese train representing a production train with the highest number of wagons in the world.

Brian Monakali, IHHA’s global chairman and general Manger at Transnet Freight Rail, said their participation in the conference illustrated that the international rail community recognizes Transnet's strengths on rail operations. 

"As Transnet we remain inspired to be part of the global rail community and we are excited to share our knowledge on the matter," Monakali said.

"Now that the association has developed a common global vision for 2030, the next step would be to move towards implementation, including identifying areas of strategic research to be undertaken at various railway organisations, research institutions and universities in different countries."

ANA