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INTERMODAL CARGO TRANSFER POLICY |
1.1 THE POLICY PROPOSAL |
(a) '7he Department of
Transport is making a policy
proposal to migrate, where possible, certain categories of cargo from road haulage back to rail haulage.
Envisaged in this policy proposal
are all categories of cargo that can be considered to be heavy,
abnormal, dangerous, bulk, long, threatening the environment, can be
accommodated in rail, unlawful to be on road in tenns
of transportation legislation, a combination of all these, and those that will be determined by
transport officials from time
to time. |
(b) The definitions
and interpretations of these categories will be based on the standards
applied by the Standards South Africa, e.g. when we refer to dangerous and
hazardous materials (HAZMA TS), we will be referring to materials as defined
by SABS Code 0228 and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. |
(c) The commodities
which will be subjected to this policy will include, "but not limited
to, animal feeds, chemicals, clay, concrete and glass; coal; containers;
explosives; fertilizers and pesticides, foods and agricultural products,
gravel and crushed stones; machinery, motorvehicles,
metal and metal products, non-metallic minerals, petroleum and petroleum product, pulp paper; timber; transportation equipment;
trucks and intermodal equipment waste and scrap
metal, and any other non-fhreatening cargo that
will be transported in extraordinary bulk. |
(d)
Some commodities may not be subjected to this policy, but their points of
destination and their bulk,
may require that they are transferred to rail. |
(e) There wHI be a need to synchronise the classification of
these categories accorcflng to the manner in which
they are categorized by Statistics South Africa namely, agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing; mining and
quarrying; manufacturing; electricity, gas water; and construction. |
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2. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES |
2.1 The Department of Transport will seek ways and means to reduce and
reverse the migration of certain categories of cargo from rail to road. The
main aim is to reduce Government's obligations to the high road maintenance
and rehabilitation costs. |
2.2 The Department will use the National Freight Logistic Strategy
(NFLS) to detennine the necessary split between the
modes of transport for an effective logistics system. |
2.3 In instances where 1here is an unfair balance of cargo ttom one mode to another, and such an unfair balance is
at cost to the State, 1he Department of Transport will reserve the right to
review its deregulation of road transport decisions. |
2.4 In order to protect 1he road infTastructure
and reduce the costs of road maintenance, 1he DOT will reduce axle loads and
determine 1he appropriate lengths for trucks on 1he road. This will be done
wi1hin the parametres of the Overload Control
Strategy. |
2.5 The DOT will
work with private road haulers to hannonize
operations along the supply chain in such a manner that complaints from
customers are minimized Seamless operations ttom
point of origin to point of destination will be encouraged. . |
2.6 The Department will work in tandem wi1h 1he Department of Labour, 1he Department of Health and road haulers, driver
trade unions and representative bodies to reduce 1he problems in all aspects
of health, labour and operations. |
2.7 Subject to 1he availability of Treasury funding, Government will
provide the necessary funds for 1he revival of both the fixed and the rolling
stock infrastructure. |
2.8 Private investors and public
private partnerships will be encouraged to be part of the provision and the revival of rail services and
equipment. . |
2.9 The Department of Transport will set 1he process in place to
establish 1he Road Quality Management System (RQMS) as envisaged in 1he White
Paper on National Transport Policy of 1996. |
2.10 This policy will not apply in instances where no rail exists.
This will mean 1hat the Department (relevant units in brackets) will
work-with the rail and road haulers on the following issues: (a) Commissioning a Pre-feasibility study to take stock of categories
of cargo, their origins and destinations and to quantify supply and demand
for haulage. (Freight Logistics and Corridor Development) |
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(b) Detennine
which rail runs parallel to the road network (Integrated Planning and Intersphere Co-ordination) (c) Calculate the tonnage splits
between the two. (Freight Logistics and Corridor Development (d)Calculate a cost-benefit
analysis of the shift from road to rail (Economic Analysis) |
2.11 The Department of Transport will work with relevant authorities
to avoid the building of suburbs near railway lines that will put the
communities at risk of hazardous spillages. |
2.12 In relation to the transportation of hazardous substances, the
Department will work closely with the Basel Convention Regional Centreffhe Rotterdam Convention and the Stockholm
Conventions to develop, review and synergize its
activities relating to the transportation of these categories of cargo. |
2.13 In the event that the building of such suburbs and housing
estates cannot be avoided, 1he Department will work with relevant authorities
to determine a distance between suburbs and rail lines 1hat will be distant
enough to minimize the risk to 1he communities in the unlikely event of
hazardous spillages. |
2.14 Rail sets carrying commodities of a toxic or hazardous nature
shall be given preference passage rights so 1hat at no, or at minimal times,
shall such cargo be left idle, standing near neighbowhoods
or presenting a danger 1hrough slow movement
and unnecessary delays. |
2.15 Each rail trader and operator shall ensure 1hat the carted
material is con-ectly identified through 1he nonnallabelling system and any o1her system 1hat may be detennined by the Department of
Transport from time to time. |
2.16 The Department will infonn and update 1he rail haulage industIy
on the latest available technologies in the rail transportation system. |
2.17 The Department of Transport
(Research Division) will undertake a comparative study of
the rail and road debates in o1her countries. |
2.18 The Department will establish a Rail Promotion Agency or pending
on the necessary procedures for 1he establishment of such an agency, the
Department will perfonn such a function under the
joint responsibility of the Freight Logistics and the Corridor Development
division and Communications. |
2.19 The Department will encourage the participation of the private
sector in the operations and investment in the rail infrastructure 1hrough
the public private partnership, build and operate and concessioning
mechanisms. |
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2.20 Government will encourage new SMME entrepreneurs into the main
stream of the transport industry by facilitating discussions between them and
both developmental and capital finance institutions. |
2.21 Rail operators
will be obliged to ensure that safety and security measures are applied in
the transportation of such goods ftom point of
origin to point of destination or/and at break of bulk points. |
2.22 In instances where there will be a multi-modal or intermodal split or operations, the necessary transhipment and commodity transfer arrangements must be
made ahead of schedule such that transfer and transhipment
times are minimized. |
2.23 The Department of Transport
will ensure that the restructuring of state-owned companies
does not compromise the objectives of this policy. |
2.24 The Department of Transport will work with National Treasury to
develop proper user-pay charges frameworks for all taxes, costs and charges
for the road fteight transportation |
2.25 The Freight Logistics and Corridor Development will set a task
team composed of the fteight industry players and
government to determine which products and tonnage limits under the
above-mentioned broad commodities shall be subjected to this policy. |
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