Spoornet Focuses on Improving its Core Freight Operations

This article describes the efforts that South Africa's national railway Spoornet has made to improve efficiency in both economic and performance terms. The railway has implemented a "Five-Point Turnaround Plan" in addition to a change in leadership that state officials hope will improve the company's performance. Part of this plan is divesting from feeder lines with declining performance and turning their management over to local governments or to the private sector. Also included in the plan is to increase Spoornet's freight business, while shifting passenger business more towards the government's Department of Transport, which in turn plans to merge the nation's passenger business into the South African Rail Commuter Corporation. Although Spoornet has traditionally had a more transcontinental approach, its new plan calls for a focus on the domestic market.