A South African court has ordered Chinese locomotive manufacturer CRRC E-Loco to release spare parts it had been withholding from state-owned logistics company Transnet, following a lengthy contractual dispute. The ruling is expected to boost Transnet’s plans to improve its freight rail performance.
The two parties became entangled in legal battles after Transnet suspended the supply of 1,064 locomotives from four original equipment manufacturers, including CRRC E-Loco, alleging that the $3.18 billion contracts awarded in 2014 had been illegally granted by the company’s previous leadership.
In 2023, Transnet stated that 161 locomotives supplied by the Chinese firm were non-operational because CRRC had withheld spare parts and maintenance support, severely affecting the state company’s freight rail operations.
Transnet, which insists it already paid for the parts under the disputed contract before its termination, obtained a separate court order in July preventing CRRC E-Loco from selling or relocating locomotives already in South Africa.
Speaking at a mining conference in Johannesburg, Transnet CEO Michelle Phillips revealed that the company had recently secured another court order compelling CRRC to deliver the spare parts stored in local warehouses.
“I wasn’t going to pay for my own parts again. We went back to court and obtained an order giving CRRC five days to hand over those parts to Transnet,” said Phillips, adding that in recent days, “they have begun releasing the parts. We are now conducting a full inventory of all of them.”
The dispute with CRRC E-Loco — which also covers outstanding locomotives not delivered under the terminated contract — has worsened Transnet’s equipment shortage.
The company’s performance has also been hindered by cable theft and infrastructure vandalism. Its freight volumes dropped from a peak of 226 million metric tons in 2017–18 to 160 million metric tons in the 2024–25 fiscal year.
Source: Reuters
