Grindrod has become the first private company to run a train on South Africa's national freight rail network under the new open-access regime, and plans to start hauling Mpumalanga coal to its Matola Terminal in Mozambique in 2027.
The JSE-listed logistics group said its test train left Komatipoort empty on 1 November and returned on 2 November carrying 2,991 t. The run, on the North-East Corridor, used Grindrod's own locomotives and wagons and was carried out with Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM), the Transnet division that now allocates network capacity to third-party operators.
Two slots, 288,000 t in year one
"This test train is also significant because it takes open access from policy into practical implementation." – Siyanda Mba, CEO, Rail Solutions, Grindrod
Grindrod plans to move about 288,000 t in its first year of commercial operation using the two weekly slots it has been allocated, the company said. Siyanda Mba, who became CEO of Grindrod's Rail Solutions business on 1 October, told Mining Weekly the first phase will use four locomotives and 50 wagons from the existing fleet.
A third weekly slot would lift volumes to roughly 432,000 t a year, subject to extra capacity and customer demand. That step needs another 50 wagons, costing about R100 million in total, which Mba said are already on order and due in the first half of 2027.
From policy to practice
According to Mba, the test assessed rolling stock performance through an engineering simulation by Transnet Freight Rail and Grindrod's engineers, as well as the interfaces with Transnet's operating divisions and CFM, Mozambique's rail operator. It will also inform whether the Railway Safety Regulator grants Grindrod its rail permit.
"This test train is also significant because it takes open access from policy into practical implementation," Mba said. She has more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing, logistics and rail, most of it at Transnet Freight Rail.
TRIM chief executive Moshe Motlohi called the run "a landmark achievement for South Africa's rail reform programme". Grindrod group CEO Kwazi Mabaso said combining rail operations with the group's terminals and corridor footprint would bring customers greater efficiency and reliability.
The test follows the signing of Rail Access Agreements between TRIM and 12 train operating companies, including Grindrod.
Coal first, other bulk later
Grindrod is starting with coal but will look at other dry-bulk cargo once customers gain confidence in the service, Mba said. "Our priority is to establish a service that customers can rely on and that can scale over time," she said.
Why it matters
For Mpumalanga coal producers and other bulk exporters, a working private operator on the Komatipoort line is the first practical test of whether open access can add capacity on a key export route. If the 2027 start holds, it gives miners another rail option to Matola and a benchmark for the 11 other operators that have signed access agreements.
Sources: Grindrod press release, 3 November 2026; Mining Weekly, 6 November 2026; SAnews, 3 November 2026.