Spoornet
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| SPOORNET
<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:16px 0 16px 0;">Image:SPOORNET LOGO.gif</td></tr> | |
| Type | |
|---|---|
| Founded | |
| Headquarters | Image:Flag of South Africa.svg Johannesburg
<tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th><td>Ms Dolly Mokgatle, CEO |
| Spoornet | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Southern Africa |
| Dates of operation | – present |
| Track gauge | {{{gauge}}} |
| Headquarters | Johannesburg |
Among Transnet's railway service divisions are: Metrorail, which operates urban commmuter train services; Protekon, a transport infrastructure design company; Transwerk, which provides railway engineering services; and Spoornet. Formerly part of South African Railways and Harbours, Spoornet is the South African railway system. This state-controlled organization employed hundreds of thousands of people for decades from the first half of the 20th century and was widely referred to by the initials SAR&H (in its English form. The Afrikaans version was SAS&H).
Many employees amongst themselves referred to the organization as "Smith and Rowlands" (being SAR) but this was an "in-joke" not widely understood by the general public.
[edit] Operations
Spoornet is a freight logistics and passenger transport railway. It is the largest freight hauler in Southern Africa. The company is comprised of six business units:
- GFB Commercial - Formerly "General Freight Business"; Spoornet's largest division; handles over 50% of its freight;
- COALlink, also known as "Black Gold", serving coal customers on the Mpumalanga - Richards Bay line; second largest coal railway in the world;
- Orex - dedicated to iron ore transport on the Sishento Saldanha line;
- Luxrail - The operation of the Blue Train, which is designed as a five-star hotel on wheels; and the operation of Rovos Rail and the Spier;
- Shosholoza Meyl - an intercity rail service serving 4 mm passengers per year;
- Spoornet International Joint Ventures - international operations.
Spoornet's passenger lines serve more than 5 million people per annum. In 1999, however, the company made a decision to focus on freight transportation and began to privatize, or sell off, some of its other services. Training, development, Catering, food service and cleaning have been outsourced to Fedics and BJ's Fast Foods.
[edit] Ongoing projects
- Maputo Corridor Spoornet is developing a plan with the IDC to transport magnetite from Phalaborwa to Maputo as feedstock for a proposed steel plant in Maputo.
- In the Beitbridge – West Nicholson, Gauteng - Dar Es Salaam corridor, Spoornet is working to build rail service between Tanzania and South Africa.
- Comazar and Spoornet are working together.
