INDUSTRIAL AREAS AND MAIN RAIL USERSAlton Industrial (Richards Bay)This industrial area was developed after the opening of
the coal line in 1976. There are several kilometres of
municipal access lines serving a number of private siding
owners. A large paper mill is located adjacent to the
actual industrial area and receives pulpwood by rail and
road.
There are a number of major industries located adjacent to
the harbour area. These industries are served by lines in
that area and this included an aluminium smelter, a rock
phosphate processing plant – producing liquid
fertilisers
and some wood chipping plants.
Industrial Access Lines
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BallengeichThis rural industrial area is located about 14 kilometres
south of Newcastle and is situated between the N11 on the
west, and the Natcor main line in the east. There is a
rail connection to Ballengeich station in the north and
the area includes a former coal mine, now served by road
from near Dannhauser, and a large chrome processing plant
which receives both chrome and silica from the North-West
Province and Mpumalanga respectively. Cato RidgeThe Cato Ridge industrial are encompasses a fertiliser
plant adjacent to the yard and a large manganese
processing factory located at the end of a 2 km spur line.
This plant receives over 550 000 tons of manganese ore
from the Northern Cape and dispatches nearly 200 000 tons
of ferro manganese to Durban for export.
An abattoir was formerly served by rail but the siding to
this facility has been uplifted since all livestock
traffic is on road. There is also a bulk materials
facility on the old main line, about two kilometres south
of the junction of the new line to the coast. Proposals
have been made to use this, or an alternative site, to
develop an intermodal depot, or even inland port. Durban AreaThere are a number of industrial parks in the Durban area,
many of which are not served by rail. Some no longer use
rail, although the infrastructure is intact in places.
There are also a number of major rail users in the area
south of Durban itself and these will continue to rely on
rail transport into the future.
Shunting Wagons at Sugar Terminal
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Canelands IndustrialThis is a small industrial site on the north side of
Canelands station which is west of the old R 102 highway
north of Varulam. Only one company had a rail siding and
this is not currently in use. CongellaCongella is a long-established industrial area bordered by
Umbilo Road in the north and the M4 freeway in the south.
It is linked to the mainline at Congella station but is
rarely used by resident industries, although the service
lines are largely intact. There is a large grain mill
between Sydney Road and the railway line which still uses
its private siding. Other rail wagons carrying fruit from
Mpumalanga are often parked in the small yard adjoining
the mill. Island ViewThe Island View industrial area is located at the Bluff,
between Fynnland and Wests. It includes the
important ‘tank-farm’ area where various
chemicals and
petroleum products are loaded to rail and road. JacobsThis is another industrial and manufacturing are which had
a rail access line in the past. It has now been removed
and it is unlikely that it will be reinstated although the
right-of-way, now a road, would allow such a development. Merebank EastThis industrial area is located to the north of the Mlazi
Canal and bordered by the Merewent residential area. There
is a large paper pulp mill in the area which is served by
a service line from Racecourse (between Merebank and
Montclair stations). The service line continues on and
crosses the Mlazi Canal and reaches the large refinery
north of Prospecton. It also serves a petroleum products
supplier on another short branch.
Mobeni WestAn industrial area north of Merebank station which is
bordered by the old Natal Mainline and the South Coast
Mainline. There are two service lines in the area which
serve a major rice distributor and a number of other
private siding owners who have not utilised rail services
in recent years. Mobeni EastThis industrial area is located between the Southern
Freeway (M4) and the old South Coast Road (R102). It is
served by a municipal access line which runs from the
Bluff line from a junction between Clairwood and Jacobs.
There is little rail service at present. Mount VernonThere is a large cement plant served by lines from an
exchange yard at Mount Vernon, on the north side of Durban
and adjacent to a large rock quarry by the N2 by-pass. The
plant received over 550 000 tons of clinker lime from
Simuma on the South Coast during 2005 – 2006, as
well as
about 455 000 tons of slag iron which had had been
processed at the Newcastle cement plant from material
supplied from the steel mill. This is a good example of a
mutually beneficial symbiotic industrial relationship. Phoenix IndustrialThis is a large industrial area located north of KwaMashu
and bordered by the Phoenix Highway in the north. Rail
access is via a municipal lone running from Phoenix
station, between Duff’s Road in the south and Mount
Edgecombe in the north. Little use is currently made of
the rail lines which were at one time electrified. There
are currently intact and could be used once again in the
future.
Disused Industrial Line in Phoenix
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ProspectonThis industrial township is split in two by the N2 South
Coast Highway south of the Durban airport. It is served by
a line from south of Isipingo station and serves a brewery
and a motor vehicle assembly plant which does not use rail
at the present time. Springfield (Umgeni Business Park)This industrial area is located along the Umgeni River and
it is often referred to as the Umgeni Business Park. Rail
service lines are located on the south side of the river
and access is from north of the Umgeni Metro station. A
large coal yard receives coal by rail and distributes by
road. UmbogintwiniThis large industrial complex was originally developed by
a chemicals, explosives and fertiliser company having
it’s
headquarters in Modderfontein, Gauteng. It is south of the
Durban city area but is part of the Ethekwini municipal
area . The complex itself has a 20 km internal rail system
which is linked to the South Coast railway line at
Umbogintwini
Rail traffic has declined dramatically in recent years,
but presently, a “mini” 20 wagon block load of
Titanium
slag is received each month by Tioxide. This traffic comes
from Richards Bay or Phalaborwa. In addition, five wagons
of ammonia are received each month. This must be off-
loaded in two hours so a locomotive must be available for
this traffic at short notice. Ezakheni Industrial Township (near Ladysmith)This is a former ‘border’ industrial
development area,
located about 20 km south of Ladysmith and connected to
the mainline at Pieters station. It was developed by the
KwaZulu Finance & Development Corporation and rail lines
served various factories. All lines have been uplifted but
there is a possibility that such lines may be of use in
the future and a thorough evaluation of such a possibility
should be investigated as a matter of urgency.
Ezakheni Industrial
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Isithebe Industrual Township (near Mandini)This is aother former ‘border’ industrial
development
area, located about 10 km north of Mandini on the North
Coast line. It was developed by the KwaZulu Finance &
Development Corporation and rail lines were provided in
the area. While these are largely intact, there has been
little rail traffic in recent times. Nevertheless, a
thorough evaluation of a future rail potential should be
undertaken before any of the lines are removed. MkondeniThis small industrial area to the south of town is along
the old main line and adjacent to the new line. It is the
site of the Municipal market, as well as some other small
industries and is not regularly used by rail these days. WillowtonThis important industrial area on the east side of
Pietermaritzburg and bordered by the N3 in the west and
Ophirton Road in the east is quite active in respect of
rail traffic. A 10 km service line running from Victoria
yard serves no less than four milling operators who
received some 200 000 tons of grain products during
2005 – 2006. NewcastleThere is a very large steel mill at Newcastle, located to
the north east of the city centre. It was established at
the town during the 1920’s and completely rebuilt at
the
new location during the 1970’s. The company has a
large
exchange yard connecting the mainline about 13 km north
the Newcastle town centre and traffic is received and
dispatched from both the north and south.
During the 2005 – 2006 review period over 1,4
million tons
of coal was delivered from as far afield as Lephalale
(formerly Ellisras) and Richards Bay. Nearly
2 million tons of iron ore was received from the Northern
Cape and Limpopo,
259 000 tons of dolomite from Gauteng and over 250 000
tons of lime from the Northern Cape and Limpopo. Traffic
dispatched included nearly 600 000 tons of iron and steel
products, most of which was exported via Durban.
In addition to the steel mill, there is a large cement
plant which also processes iron slag which is railed to
the cement factory at Mount Vernon. At a point 4 km south
of Newcastle station at Rooipunt,, junction of the Utrecht
branch, a large industrial undertaking produces a variety
of industrial products for domestic use and export. Rail
is used for raw product transport, as well as for the
finished product.
Collecting Container Loads
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