The Largest in History! South Africa Spends 200 Million USD to Purchase Locomotives and Freight Wagons
2025-12-08
South Africa's private rail freight giant Traxtion recently announced a major investment plan: it will invest 3.4 billion South African Rand (approximately 197 million USD) to purchase rolling stock, including 46 diesel locomotives and 920 freight wagons. This historic private investment, the largest of its kind in South Africa's rail freight sector, is a direct response to the government-led railway reforms, signaling accelerated private capital entry as the country opens its freight market to private operators.Among the core equipment of this investment, 46 second-hand diesel-electric locomotives, costing 1.8 billion South African Rand, were acquired from New Zealand’s KiwiRail. This includes 42 partially refurbished U26C locomotives and 4 fully refurbished 2.5 MW C30-8MMI locomotives. According to Traxtion, these locomotives are in good maintenance and stable operational condition. To enhance performance and reliability, the company will partner with Wabtec to upgrade the U26C locomotives to C30 specifications—replacing them with the new energy-efficient 7FDL-EFI engines and equipping them with the advanced Brightstar control system. After the upgrade, the continuous tractive effort of the locomotives will increase from 218 kN (at 29 km/h) to 240 kN, with fuel efficiency expected to improve by 15%. All refurbishment work will be completed at Traxtion’s Rosslyn Rail Service Center in Pretoria.The delivery and refurbishment of the locomotives will proceed in four batches: from April 2026 to August 2027, 10–12 locomotives per batch will arrive in South Africa, each undergoing a four-month refurbishment cycle. This includes engine and control system upgrades, six-yearly overhauls, and full repainting. The first batch of refurbished locomotives is scheduled to enter service in the third quarter of 2026, with the entire refurbishment project concluding in early 2028.Meanwhile, Traxtion will spend 1.6 billion South African Rand to purchase approximately 920 freight wagons from domestic South African manufacturers. If network operation permits are successfully obtained, the company expects to launch freight services by mid-2026. The addition of these vehicles will increase South Africa’s annual rail freight capacity by 4.5 million tons, accounting for about 5% of the target set by South Africa’s Minister of Transport to “increase freight volume from 160 million to 250 million tons.” This expansion will provide critical support for alleviating South Africa’s freight pressure and reducing logistics costs.The investment will be financed through a combination of equity and debt capital, with an initial ratio of 65% to 35%. It is projected to create 662 permanent jobs, including train crews and technical personnel, while also generating numerous employment opportunities in freight wagon manufacturing. Traxtion CEO James Holley noted that the company had considered purchasing new locomotives, but the opportunity to acquire such a large fleet of second-hand locomotives at once is rare. “In over twenty years in the industry, I’ve never seen so many locomotives available for sale at the same time. This will allow us to start operations much faster than if we were buying new units.”
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