RBCT rail line partially reopens

The rail line to South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) has partially reopened and is running at 50pc capacity following the derailment of a 200-wagon coal train last week, according to operator Transnet Freight Rail (TFR).

One rail line was re-opened at 03:00 local time this morning but there is no firm restart date planned for the second line, a spokesman for TFR said.

Coal railings to RBCT fell to just 590,000t in the past seven days, down by 860,000t on the week. This led to a draw down in stocks at Richards Bay, with inventories falling by 940,000t on the week to a two-month low of 4.1mn t.

Sone 17 cars of a 200-wagon coal train derailed at Uloliwe on 18 June, prompting the closure of the line between Ermelo and RBCT, the conduit for delivering coal by rail from South African mines to the export port.

The news did little to support South African fob prices, which have been under pressure by weak international demand amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

By Alex Thackrah