Eight Traxtion Locomotives Arrive at Port of Durban

SOUTH AFRICA: Eight Wabtec C28 locomotives have reached the Port of Durban from New Zealand, opening Traxtion’s four-shipment programme to rebuild and deploy 46 units for freight service.

According to Traxtion’s official arrival announcement, the locomotives form the first delivery under the company’s R1.8 billion locomotive investment. They will now be transferred to Traxtion’s Rail Services Hub in Pretoria, where refurbishment and upgrades are scheduled to begin in September 2026.

First batch enters a 46-locomotive programme

The Durban delivery is the first of four planned shipments over the next two years. Together, the shipments are expected to bring 46 locomotives from New Zealand for refurbishment and deployment.

Traxtion’s wider rolling-stock programme also provides for the planned acquisition of 920 wagons at a further cost of R1.6 billion. Combined with the locomotive allocation, the total planned investment is R3.4 billion.

The arrival follows an equity subscription involving Harith, STANLIB and Standard Bank. The arrival notice valued the subscription at R1.5 billion, while Traxtion’s June 3 funding update reported the raise as $86 million and said it completed the equity funding required for the programme.

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Refurbishment comes before commercial freight service

The locomotives have arrived in South Africa, but they are not yet ready for commercial operation. Their next stage is refurbishment and upgrading in Pretoria before entry into freight service.

STANLIB’s investment update says the first locomotives are expected to enter service from March 2027. It also says the programme targets at least 60% local content and is expected to support more than 600 direct jobs during the build and deployment phase.

The arrival announcement did not identify the first operating corridors. It confirmed, however, that the current eight-locomotive batch starts a staged fleet deployment rather than an immediate commercial launch.