Traxtion, a full-service rail freight, locomotive operations and leasing services company based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, has finished the overhaul of the first two out of five Class 39 locomotives acquired from Transnet Rail Engineering in 2022 (39 001 – 39 005). In their new Traxtion liver, they will be delivered for service in east Africa. The team at Rail Services Hub at Traxtion is finishing the works on the remaining three locomotives, two of which will then be deployed in east Africa, while the last one will stay in South Africa. The former Spoornet locomotives were rebuilt into EMD GT26CU-3 locomotives in 2006.
Traxtion Group is owned by Principle Capital and Harith, through its Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund 2. It aims to become the first pan-African railway operator. Its business units cover leasing, maintenance and operations. Its fleet exceeds 50 locomotives (including 10 new General Electric C30EMP and six Stadler Afro4000 locomotives), and 200 wagons (including 50 lightweight skeletal container wagons).
