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Pentrich-Thornville-Richmond Branch LineThis branch formerly began at Thornville on the old main
line between Pietermaritzburg and Umlaas Road. The main
line section from Thornville and Umlaas Road has now been
closed and uplifted, and the branch line now officially
begins at Pentrich. Formerly 28 km in length, it is now 42
km in length.
The branch has a 1 in 24 ruling gradient. The maximum
permissible wagon axle-load is 18.5 tons. The sharpest
curve has a radius of 90 metres. Train loads are 350 tons
for a single Class 35 diesel loco and, in normal
circumstances, up to two are used on trains.
Opened in 1897, the branch was the first of many
agricultural development lines at the time. During 1925
the branch moved over 35,000 tons of traffic, consisting
mainly of milk and butter, livestock, bacon and other
general traffic. Today, over 95% of traffic is timber, but
this traffic has dropped from over 40,000 tons in
2002/2003
to just 28,000 tons in 2005/2006. Part of the reason
for this
decline has to do with harvesting patterns in the timber
industry.
If plantations being felled are near to the railway then
it is an economic option. If, however, the plantations are
further away, road transport becomes the preferred option.
Since the road haul to the coast is relatively short and
road freight vehicles are not adequately tolled for road
use, the use of road transport is in the short-term
interests of the
industry but not necessarily in the country’s
interest. For Details of
Volumes and Commodities Received
and Forwarded [Table 6]CLICK HERE
Richmond Station area
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