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07 Oct, 2025
Transport Month: Rebuild SA’s rails
Statement by Mandla Peter, United Democratic Movement Member in the National Council of Provinces As we mark Transport Month, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) extends condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the recent tragic crashes on the R81 in Ga-Sekgopo, Limpopo, and on the N2 in Phongolo, northern KwaZulu-Natal. These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a deep and ongoing crisis in South Africa’s transport and logistics system. The high number of accidents involving heavy trucks is a national disgrace. These tragedies are not only caused by reckless drivers, but also by a collapsed freight logistics network weakened by poor governance, corruption, and neglected infrastructure maintenance. Over the past decade, Transnet Freight Rail volumes have fallen by as much as 80% since 2010, due to vandalism, flood damage, safety lapses, and chronic underinvestment. As a result, our roads are overloaded with trucks carrying goods that should be moved by rail. This has destroyed critical infrastructure, constrained productivity, and claimed far too many innocent lives. The UDM has long maintained that greater investment in rail infrastructure is vital to move freight off roads, reduce accidents, and restore economic efficiency. Stricter enforcement of truck regulations, including roadworthiness, driver rest periods, and load management, is also essential and long overdue. We note the recent initiatives by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to revitalise South Africa’s rail and port systems through private sector participation in five priority corridors. This is a welcome acknowledgment of the crisis, but the pace of implementation remains far too slow. Promises must now produce tangible results such as operational freight trains, reopened corridors, and a visible reduction in the number of heavy trucks on our national roads. In March 2025, the Department of Transport announced that a second Request for Information (RFI) for private sector participation in passenger rail would be issued in May. However, weeks later, during her address at the Rand Merchant Bank Think Summit, Minister Creecy indicated that the RFI would instead be released in June. These repeated delays reflect a troubling pattern of shifting timelines and uncertainty in government planning. To date, there has been no evidence that this RFI has been issued, raising questions about the government’s seriousness in addressing the crisis Promises must translate into tangible outcomes: operational freight trains, reopened corridors, safer roads, and the visible removal of heavy trucks from national highways. The public deserves clear timelines, transparent progress reports, and measurable results. The UDM believes that rebuilding South Africa’s transport system requires: 1. Immediate prioritisation of freight rail rehabilitation, with guaranteed deadlines for corridor reopening and transparent monitoring of progress. 2. Release of the second RFI for private sector participation in passenger rail. 3. Strong public–private collaboration, not as a substitute for state accountability, but to unlock investment, technology, and logistics expertise. 4. Stricter regulation of the trucking sector, including the establishment of a national Truck Safety and Compliance Unit to enforce vehicle standards, rest periods, and load management. 5. A national road safety audit, to identify high-risk corridors, improve infrastructure, and reduce fatalities in line with the United Nations target of halving road deaths by 2030. Transport is the backbone of the economy. When it collapses, jobs, safety, and growth collapse with it. South Africa cannot continue to treat mass road deaths as routine. The time has come to shift freight back to rail, restore safety to our roads, and put accountability at the centre of every kilometre travelled. The UDM remains committed, in Parliament and beyond, to fighting for a transport system that serves the people, protects lives, and drives inclusive economic development.
