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South Africa: Railway line near border cleared by Mbombela towing company
10:16 CAT | 09 Dec 2022
Van Wettens works on recovering the locomotives involved in the November 15 collision. [ Photo: Van Wettens]
- Van Wettens managed to clear the railway line in three days following a train collision on the tracks on November 15.
In one of its largest recoveries in its 55-year history, local towing company Van Wettens was contracted to help clear the main railway line between Ressano Garcia in Mozambique and Komatipoort following a train collision last month.
A Transnet train operated by a crew from Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM) collided with a CFM train that was shunting on the main line near the Lebombo Border on November 15, causing damage to the tracks and a blockage of the line.
READ: Transnet, CFM trains crash in Mozambique
While the cause of the collision is still being investigated, a statement by Transnet said the Transnet train, which had been loaded with magnetite, had departed from Komatipoort and was destined for Ressano Garcia when the crash occurred.
Van Wettens’s Morné de Wet said he had received a call from iZusa Carriers to assist in clearing the line on November 18. He said a crew was assembled and was out working on the site by November 28.
“We used four of our specialised heavy duty wreckers to help clear it and all [eight] of our winches. It took us a total of three days to clear it up,” said De Wet.
Four locomotives were involved in the crash, and he explained that one of the trains had been pulling along another when it collided with another train coming from the opposite direction, which was pulling an empty locomotive.
“We had to secure the locomotives. On the second day, we recovered the one. On the third day, we recovered the second and third locomotives at the same time.
We had two trucks operating from the Mozambican border and another two on the South African side of the border, and we picked them up simultaneously. We were finished with our side of the work by the Wednesday afternoon.”
De Wet said to his knowledge, the line has been finished, but there are still a few things that need to be repaired.
An elephant was also spotted near the crash site and great care was taken by the crews not to disturb the wildlife during the recovery.
Source: Lowvelder
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