In the South African Northern Cape, 104 CR17 wagon trains loaded with manganese ore depart daily from Hotazel on a 1,100 km journey to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape for offloading. For traction, Transnet Freight Rail uses 20E a 23E electric locomotives.
Thanks to improvements in infrastructure, increased staff and slots and rolling stock capacity, TFR is now capable to run 32 weekly trains, more than double the amount from ten years ago. While in 2012, the corridor capacity was at 4.9 million tonnes, in 2023 it has grown to 9.7 million tonnes.
