Transnet rail recovery starting to show up in rising coal exports
Volumes through Richards Bay Coal Terminal are on a four-year uptrend, though not yet back to the 2017 peak.
Recent financial reports from major coal producers indicate a positive trend in the performance of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). Thungela Resources, in particular, reported a significant increase in earnings per share, up 150% to R4.80, with interim dividends nearly tripling from R2 to R5.50 per share. The company's net profit reached R1.4 billion, driven by a substantial R1 billion gain from selling the Kleinkopje mining right and releasing associated environmental provisions.
While Thungela's coal production remained flat in the first half of the year, export sales, including third-party coal, surged by about 12%, from 6.6 million tonnes (Mt) to 7.4Mt. This growth was attributed to improved TFR performance and additional rail allocations from producers unable to utilize their full capacity. Thungela also exported roughly 600,000 tonnes of third-party coal.
Transnet's annualized coal corridor performance improved to 59.9Mt in the half-year, up from 56.8Mt in 2025, although still below historic levels. The Richards Bay Coal Terminal experienced an 11% increase in exports, reaching 57.66Mt in 2025, the highest level in four years, following a record low of 47.21Mt in 2023. The number of trains offloaded at the terminal increased from 6,342 in 2024 to 7,157 in 2025, with a daily average of 20 trains.
Despite still operating at only about 68% of capacity, the trend suggests Richards Bay could ship 62Mt this year, with a goal of 70Mt in the coming years.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
