The first eight Wabtec C28 locomotives have arrived at the Port of Durban from New Zealand, marking the first shipment under Traxtion’s R1.8 billion rolling stock investment programme and an important milestone in expanding freight rail capacity across Southern Africa.
Following their arrival in Durban, the eight locomotives will be transported to Traxtion Rail Services Hub in Pretoria, where refurbishment and upgrades are scheduled to commence in September 2026, before entering commercial service.
The arrival marks the first of four planned shipments that will see 46 locomotives introduced over the next two years. The program includes the planned acquisition of 920 wagons for a further R1.6 billion, marking a total planned investment of R3.4 billion. Traxtion announced in May the successful close of a R1.5 billion equity subscription underwritten by Harith, Stanlib and Standard Bank.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺,” 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘊𝘌𝘖 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘹𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩.”
