WC Mobility Dept launches project aimed at reviving rail freight along key agricultural corridor

CAPE TOWN - The Western Cape’s Mobility Department has launched the Overberg Freight Rail Business Case project in Bredasdorp aimed at reviving rail freight along a key agricultural corridor.

The initiative aims to reconnect Caledon’s farming hub with the Belcon inland terminal in Bellville and the Port of Cape Town, offering an alternative to the near-total reliance on trucking.

Currently, the corridor moves nearly 9 million tons of freight annually, with 99.8% transported by road.

The department said restoring rail freight could lower logistics costs, ease congestion on the N2, and help triple the province’s export value by 2035.

Mobility MEC Issac Sileku said if the pilot proves viable, construction could begin in 2026, with a full launch expected in 2028.

"Freight and logistics are the lifeblood for the seamless movement of goods from point of origin to final destination. With this business case, we aim to achieve our bold goal of moving freight from road to rail, one corridor at a time."