JOHANNESBURG, March 25 (Reuters) - South Africa's
logistics utility Transnet has suspended freight rail services
on its iron ore corridor due to adverse weather conditions, the
company said on Saturday.
The railway line, which stretches from iron ore mines at
Sishen in the Northern Cape to the Saldanha port in the Western
Cape, is South Africa's main link for iron ore exports.
In a statement, Transnet said it suspended all mainline
train services along the ore corridor to Saldanha "shortly
before noon on Thursday, 23 March 2023 due to extreme weather
conditions in the Western and Northern Cape."
"Strong wind conditions caused the top-mounted electrical
gear of a locomotive to become entangled in the overhead cables.
This resulted in damage to 600 meters of overhead track
equipment," the company said.
It added that Transnet Freight Rail suffered further damage
when heavy rains, hail and high winds caused flash floods that
swept through road infrastructure, cutting off access to a 150
km section of the railway reserve.
Transnet was working around the clock to restore the line,
the statement said.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; editing by Clelia Oziel)
