By Nqobile Mthembu, Business Development Manager at ACTOM

South Africa’s move to an open‑access rail model from April 2027 marks one of the most significant shifts in the country’s freight logistics landscape in decades. For the first time, private operators will be able to run services on designated freight corridors, introducing competition above the rail while the state continues to steward the underlying infrastructure.

Under the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM), created to manage South Africa’s national rail network infrastructure, access deals with eleven private freight train companies have been signed for major national corridors.

This reform has the potential to unlock capacity, improve reliability, and stimulate long‑overdue investment, but only if the physical network is ready for the increased demand it will need to support.

Physical Network Still Lagging

From an institutional and regulatory perspective, the foundations for open access are largely in place. The mechanisms for allocating slots, managing access and ensuring fair participation are emerging, creating a more transparent, commercially oriented environment.

However, readiness on paper does not equate to readiness on the ground. The country’s physical rail network has endured years of underinvestment, maintenance backlogs, security breaches and capacity constraints.

Signalling remains outdated across many corridors, traction power is inconsistent,and rolling stock availability remains insufficient to support rising throughput.While the system may be structurally prepared for multiple operators, the infrastructure is not yet ready at scale.

Open access will only succeed if modernisation accelerates and investment in track, signalling, electrical systems and rolling stock support keeps pace with operator growth.

Pressure Points to Intensify

As new operators enter the network, pressure will intensify across several critical areas. Signalling and train control systems need urgent upgrades to ensure safe, reliable operations.

Power infrastructure must also be stabilised and expanded to support more locomotive movements. Rolling stock shortages will worsen, and demand for maintenance facilities, components and refurbishment capacity will grow rapidly.

These are not isolated challenges; they are interconnected. A modernised signalling system is ineffective without reliable traction power, and additional locomotives and wagons add little value if maintenance capacity cannot support them. The entire ecosystem must evolve together.

Investment Ahead of Demand

The shift to a multi‑operator environment fundamentally changes how engineering and maintenance partners must plan. Under a single‑operator model, suppliers often aligned their investment cycles to one entity’s procurement patterns. That approach is no longer viable.

What is needed now is flexibility, responsiveness and local capacity. Engineering partners must invest in standardised components, strengthen technical support and shorten turnaround times. Operators will need reliable maintenance and engineering support throughout their assets’ lifecycles, and suppliers must be ready to meet that demand.

This is also an opportunity to reinvigorate local manufacturing. For years, limited investment in rail infrastructure weakened South Africa’s domestic rail supply chain. Open access can reverse this trend if suppliers invest early and decisively.

Collaboration Beyond Slot Allocation

Slot allocation determines when and where trains can run, but collaboration goes deeper. Infrastructure managers, operators, OEMs and engineering partners must share information, plan maintenance jointly and coordinate investment decisions. If suppliers are only brought in when equipment fails or procurement begins, the system becomes reactive rather than strategic.

Working together from the outset allows us to design fit‑for‑purpose solutions, plan spares and maintenance capacity, and ensure that assets are supported throughout their lifecycle. A fragmented approach will undermine the very benefits open access aims to deliver.

South Africa’s ambition to move 250 million tonnes of freight by 2030 is achievable, but not at the current pace of modernisation.Reaching the target will require accelerated investment in network capacity, signalling, traction equipment, rolling stock, and maintenance. Without this, the system will struggle to absorb additional operators and volumes.

The Biggest Risk

If infrastructure investment does not keep pace with operator growth, the benefits of open access will not fully materialise. Increased traffic on an already stressed network heightens safety risks, reduces reliability and accelerates wear. Investment in locomotives and wagons must be matched by the infrastructure that enables them to operate efficiently.

Despite these challenges, open access can rebuild South Africa’s domestic rail supply chain, stimulate investment in locomotives, wagons, signalling, electrical refurbishment and local manufacturing, and help restore the country’s position as a leader in rail engineering.

If we modernise decisively, collaborate meaningfully and invest ahead of demand, open access will not only expand freight volumes but will reshape the future of South Africa’s rail sector for generations to come.

South Africa’s annual Transport Month begins on 1 October, putting the country’s roads, railways, ports and public transport systems back in the spotlight.

The 2026 campaign is being held under the theme “Building a safe, sustainable, reliable and affordable transport system”, with the Department of Transport highlighting the sector’s contribution to social development and economic growth. The campaign comes as South Africa continues to work through major reforms across its transport and freight networks.

For the freight industry, the timing is significant.

South Africa is in the middle of efforts to reform its logistics system, increase private-sector participation in rail and ports, and improve the infrastructure connecting producers with domestic and international markets.

Transport Month therefore arrives with plenty for the industry to watch.

Freight is a Network, Not a Single Mode

South Africa’s freight system stretches across roads, rail, ports, pipelines, airports and intermodal facilities.

The National Freight Databank tracks these different parts of the system across 16 national freight corridors, providing information on infrastructure, freight volumes, commodities and the origins and destinations of cargo.

That interconnectedness matters because a weakness in one part of the network can create problems elsewhere.

A manufacturer may have sufficient production capacity, for example, but still face delays if freight cannot reach a port reliably. An exporter may have international demand for its product but struggle with the inland journey between a mine, farm or factory and the export terminal.

The efficiency of the supply chain ultimately depends on how well these individual links work together.

Rail Reform Remains a Major Priority

Rail is likely to remain one of the biggest areas of focus during this year’s Transport Month.

South Africa is opening its freight rail network to private operators as part of the broader logistics reform programme. The government has identified private-sector participation in rail and ports as an important part of efforts to improve the performance and competitiveness of the freight system.

Several projects are being developed under this approach, including the Ngqura Manganese Export Corridor, Richards Bay Dry Bulk Terminal and the Container Corridor between Gauteng and eThekwini.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has positioned these projects within the government’s wider logistics reform programme, which aims to improve the performance of South Africa’s freight system and attract private investment into critical transport infrastructure, as outlined by the Department of Transport.

The objective is not simply to put more trains on the tracks.

The bigger challenge is creating a freight network with enough capacity and reliability for businesses to make rail a dependable part of their logistics planning.

Roads Remain Critical

Rail reform does not make the road network less important.

Road freight continues to connect factories, warehouses, farms, distribution centres, ports and customers across the country. Trucks also provide the first- and last-mile connections that rail cannot always provide.

That makes road maintenance, congestion management and road safety important supply-chain issues in their own right.

Johannesburg is putting some of these challenges at the centre of its own Transport Month campaign. The City of Johannesburg has identified reducing traffic congestion, repairing road infrastructure and improving transport reliability among its priorities, alongside initiatives focused on road safety and public transport.

The City is also using the campaign to promote greater public-private cooperation, with projects involving its transport entities, PRASA, Gauteng Provincial Government, public transport operators and other partners.

These projects may not directly move freight, but they form part of the urban transport environment in which commercial vehicles, workers and deliveries operate.

Ports Remain Critical to the Export Chain

The pressure on South Africa’s ports also makes transport reform particularly important for exporters.

Government has identified improved port infrastructure and greater private-sector participation as part of its broader logistics strategy. The Durban Container Terminal Pier 2 concession, for example, has brought private-sector involvement into one of the country’s most important container gateways.

For exporters, the issue is ultimately straightforward: getting goods to a port is only useful if those goods can then move through the terminal efficiently.

This is why road, rail and port reforms cannot be treated as separate projects. The performance of an export corridor depends on the connections between them.

What Should the Industry Watch?

Transport Month provides a useful opportunity to look at whether South Africa’s reforms are beginning to translate into measurable improvements.

For freight operators, that means watching rail capacity, road conditions, port performance and the development of alternative logistics options.

For manufacturers and exporters, the focus will be on whether these changes reduce delays and make transport costs and delivery times more predictable.

And for government, the challenge is turning infrastructure investment and policy reform into a transport system that businesses can actually rely on.

South Africa already has an extensive transport network. The bigger challenge is making its different parts work together more effectively.

As Transport Month gets underway, that may be the most important measure of progress: not simply how much infrastructure is being built, but whether the network is becoming easier to depend on.

Thought Leadership Piece

It is tempting to look at the measured pace of fully electric vehicle adoption on South African roads and conclude that the automotive aftermarket still has time to adapt. That perspective is short-sighted and carries significant economic and operational risks for the sector.

The growing presence of traditional and plug-in hybrid vehicles demonstrates that the technological transition is already well underway. Within the next few years, thousands of these increasingly sophisticated vehicles will move beyond their original manufacturer warranty periods and into independent aftermarket workshops.

“The question is not whether electromobility is coming to the aftermarket – it is already here. The industry needs to make sure that its businesses and people are ready to work safely and competently on these vehicles when they arrive outside the dealer network,” says Pieter Niemand, National Director of the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA) representing 2 700 independent workshops nationally and a proud association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI). 

Pieter Niemand, National Director of the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA)

South Africa’s automotive retail aftermarket is a fundamental pillar of the economy, supporting more than 270,000 jobs across approximately 23,000 employer businesses. The vast majority are small and medium-sized enterprises, spanning mechanical repair shops, vehicle dealerships, tyre centres, precision engineering businesses and remanufacturing operations.

If the aftermarket delays adapting its skills base, thousands of independent businesses face the prospect of losing customer trust, commercial relevance and ultimately sustainability as the national vehicle fleet evolves.

“For independent workshops, this is ultimately about remaining relevant and competitive. Customers will continue to need trusted businesses to maintain and repair their vehicles, but those businesses must have the skills to work on the technologies that are increasingly coming into the market,” Niemand says.

The shift towards electromobility also introduces new technical and safety considerations into everyday workshop environments. Technicians are increasingly encountering high-voltage electrical circuits, sophisticated battery packs and integrated software architectures.

High-voltage vehicle components can present serious electrical hazards if they are handled without the correct procedures, equipment and training. Modern technicians therefore need formal competence to identify risks, isolate electrical systems safely, navigate digital diagnostic platforms and complete complex repairs in line with internationally recognised safety standards.

“This is a significant change for the traditional workshop environment. Technicians cannot simply rely on the knowledge and experience that has served them well with conventional vehicles. They need to understand high-voltage systems, battery technology and electronic diagnostics, and they need to know how to work safely around them,” says Niemand.

The skills requirement extends beyond the workshop floor. Service advisors, parts salesmen and sales teams are an important link between technical staff and vehicle owners. Frontline employees need a sound understanding of hybrid and electric propulsion systems so they can guide motorists accurately, quote correctly for specialised repairs, order the appropriate parts and communicate important safety considerations.

To safeguard the workforce and raise industry standards, fragmented and informal learning needs to make way for nationally recognised qualifications. The RMI has partnered with merSETA and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) to establish three formal occupational skills programmes for new energy vehicles.

The structured qualification system follows a stepped approach. The first has a strong safety focus, and is aimed at helping workshop assistants develop the correct support practices around electric and hybrid vehicles. The remaining programmes are aimed at qualified technicians, with a stronger focus on maintenance, diagnostics and repair processes. This approach mirrors that already in place in Europe, where high-voltage training is treated as an ongoing process rather than a single intervention, and which is tailored according to an individual’s role, prior qualification and the type of work they are expected to perform. This ensures that there is a standardised training programme in place, setting a benchmark for workshops throughout the country, whilst also complying with international best practice.

International partnerships are also helping to strengthen South Africa’s training pipeline. Collaborations with organisations such as the German Chamber of Crafts Erfurt and GIZ enable local training to be benchmarked against more mature electromobility markets.

These initiatives incorporate the proven dual-system training philosophy, combining theoretical instruction with practical workplace experience. This approach provides young people entering the trade with portable qualifications while giving experienced mechanics a structured opportunity to upskill throughout their careers.

“We have an opportunity to learn from markets that are further along in the electromobility journey while developing skills that are relevant to South Africa. The combination of formal learning and practical workplace experience is particularly important in a technical industry such as ours,” says Niemand.

Preparing the aftermarket for electromobility will require proactive commitment from every stakeholder. Independent workshop owners and entrepreneurial mechanics need to embrace the opportunities presented by new vehicle technologies if small businesses are to continue thriving alongside larger dealer networks.

“The independent aftermarket has always adapted to changes in vehicle technology. Electromobility is another major step in that evolution, but it requires us to start preparing now rather than waiting until the vehicles are already in our workshops,” Niemand says.

MIWA is encouraging workshop owners, automotive technicians, business managers and other industry stakeholders to visit the organisation at Automechanika Johannesburg in October. The event will provide an opportunity to explore emerging training pathways, examine the latest diagnostic technologies and understand how accredited skills initiatives can help businesses future-proof their operations.

“Automechanika provides an ideal platform for the industry to engage with these developments. We want workshop owners and their teams to understand what is available to them and, importantly, to see that there are practical pathways to building the skills they will need for the future,”  concludes Niemand.