The Draft National Rail Master Plan released by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy for public comment outlines an ambitious R2-trillion vision for repositioning South Africa's underperforming rail sector as the "backbone" of the country's logistics and transport system by 2050.

Cabinet approved the release of the draft for public consultations on April 1 and on April 23 the document was unveiled by Creecy at a well-attended function, hosted at Transnet Freight Rail's campus in Esselen Park, in Gauteng.

Consultations are scheduled to continue until the end of July, with in-person events planned for all nine provinces during the course of May and June.

In addition, the Department of Transport has launched a Web portal that provides access to the draft plan, its source documents and associated maps, as well as a page through which comments can be submitted.

The draft document includes a frank assessment of the poor state of the rail network over the past several decades, which has resulted in a precipitous decline both in freight volumes and the number of commuters that use rail.

It estimates that over 100-million tons of freight have been lost to road, while commuter rail ridership last peaked in 1997, with current services constrained by a lack of signalling systems, which were seriously vandalised during Covid.

"Currently approximately 165-million tons of freight are moved on our rail system annually. Research indicates that market appetite for rail freight transportation is closer to 280-million tons," Creecy highlighted, having set a 250-million-ton yearly target for 2030.

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) ridership numbers, meanwhile, recovered to above 100-million last year, but remain well below both historic levels and the 600-million target set for restoration.

"The unintended consequence of this underperformance by our rail network includes loss of foreign exchange earnings, and job losses when mining and agricultural products cannot be affordably and timeously exported," Creecy added, while also highlighting the negative effects on road congestion and safety.

She stressed that there was no intention for rail to displace other modes of transport, with trucks, buses and minibus taxis remaining central to the future ecosystems.

Instead, the aim was to "rebalance" road-to-rail freight distribution, through a 'brownfield' approach that optimised existing rail infrastructure and targeted 'greenfield' expansions to help improve the efficiency and cost-competitiveness of South Africa's logistics system.

The draft masterplan includes several far-reaching proposals for meeting these objectives, including:

rationalising freight rail networks to focus on high-density and high-value corridors, with branch lines with limited commercial viability being repurposed or closed;

transitioning key parts of the national rail network to standard-gauge by 2050, to overcome the constraints associated with running rapid, high-volume services on narrow-gauge networks;

facilitating private sector investment and participation to improve efficiency, enhance service delivery, and boost infrastructure development;

modernising passenger rail by emphasising an expansion of capacity, improving safety and reliability, and using technology to enhance the customer experience; and

encouraging adaptability to changing economic conditions, including the closure of unprofitable lines and the introduction of new services to meet emerging market needs.

Transnet CEO Michelle Phillips and PRASA CEO Hishaam Emeran both welcomed the release of the draft masterplan, with Phillips attributing rail's underperformance partly to fragmentation and a lack of previous coordination and Emeran arguing that it was an opportunity to propel rail into the future.

The release was also endorsed by Toyota South Africa Motors CEO Andrew Kirkby, representing organised business at the launch, Kganki Matabane, of the Black Business Council, the World Bank's Dr Bernard Ari...