Staff Writer
The latest incident where a TransNamib caught fire on Saturday outside Aus could be a grim reminder that the railway transporter has yet to put things in order.
TransNamib spokesperson Abigail Raubenheimer confirmed the fire incident to The Villager and said the locomotive is more than 50 years old. Raubenheimer said there were no injuries.
“The lifespan of a locomotive is between 25 and 30 years,” Raubenhemier said.
The Saturday incident adds to TransNamib’s growing problems with old rolling stock that has been blamed for close to 200 derailments and more than 12 deaths in just four years.
So far this year, TransNamib has suffered two derailments – in January and February.
The January derailment occurred between Aus and Goageb, where a locomotive and four wagons fell off the rails because of a washed away track.
In February, a locomotive and two wagons derailed between Kombat and Grootfontein. The wagons were loaded with fuel that was spilt.
Raubenheimer attributed the derailment to heavy rains that lashed the area and left a part of the railway line washed away.
The spokesperson told The Villager that TransNamib has a problem with old rolling stock, which they intend to replace.
In March this year, the Development Bank of Namibia and the Development Bank of Southern Africa gave TransNamib N$2,6 billion to acquire new rolling stock and spares.
“We have plans to refurbish 53 locomotives,” Raubenheimer said.
It is not clear whether refurbishing the locomotives would erase TransNamib’s problems because the rail transporter’s CEO, Johny Smith, is on record saying that 52 per cent of Namibian’s 2 687km railway lines do not meet SADC’s standards.
SADC requires the railway lines to be 18.5 tonnes/axle load, but Namibia’s railway lines are still between 16.5 and 17.5 tons/axle load.
Smith is also on record saying that through support from the government, TransNamib has rehabilitated the railway line betweenKranzberg and Walvis Bay.
According to Smith, the rehabilitated railway line reduces the travelling time by 30 per cent and enables TransNamib to upgrade the axel loads to 18.5 tonnes.
One hopes is that TransNamib will act quickly because there are a lot of losses of locomotives and damages to rail infrastructure, locomotives and wagons.
For example, in March 2021, TransNamib’s four locomotives and more than 25 wagons were damaged extensively when they derailed at Swakopmund. The derailment killed the assistant locomotive driver, Wilhelm Nongameni Joseph, and injured another.
TransNamib admitted to the damages in a statement where they said: “We can also confirm our infrastructure and rolling stock which includes four locomotives and more than 25 wagons, including empty fuel and containerized wagons, have been immensely damaged.”
It took TransNamib days to clear the derailment scene and restore services. The railway transporter incurred more costs by hiring cranes to salvage the operation.
Raubenheimer told the media that it was quite an intensive and time-consuming process at the operation time.
“Our engineering department restored the line after a couple of days, and it is fully operational,” she said then, adding that they were busy assessing the cost of the damage.
Another loss occurred in July 2021 between Otavi and Otjiwarongo when 11 tankers derailed while seven others survived.
TransNamib said it expected to clear the scene in about a week before restoring services.
