Assessing the feasibility of an intermodal freight transport system in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa's freight system has evidenced dependable characteristics as seen along sections of the core corridors, rising cost of logistics, and a consolidated move towards road transportation, as evidenced by logic. To encourage a more balanced approach in using the rail, this study sought to assess the viability of intermodal rail-road transport within the reform strategy, focusing on which corridors sustained or inhibited service conditions on a given shift in transport. The research took on an interpretivist and a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive approach within a single, bounded national freight system case study. Experienced stakeholders from across the freight ecosystem were recruited and interviewed using a self developed semi-structured interview guide. The reflexive thematic approach to data analysis was supplemented by iterative coding and memoing. Ethical protocols according to POPIA were observed, and trustworthiness as a criterion was documented, leading to the completion of an audit and triangulation of data with documents. Research found that schedule reliability, predictability of slot access, and terminal order all contributed to the threshold that, once crossed, saw intermodal shipment used more and more. Cost differentiation still played a role, but only once the minimum service standard was reached and cycle-time uncertainty was lowered. Three access corridors focused on proven access pricing and allocation rule transparency, maintenance sequencing that alleviated persistent bottlenecks, and information rights that reduced terminal dwell times and forecasted terminal handovers more reliably. Contrary to the existing reform pathway, third-party access and the institutional separation of infrastructure management from operations, provided performance commitments were maintained, and node constraints were met, satisfying the above. The research provided a feasibility frame that was evidence-led and contingent on the governance of a corridor to intermodal revitalisation and integration with the shipper's calculus on adoption. Recommendations defined minimum service standard thresholds and monitoring milestones at the corridor level, accompanied by a phased implementation design that sequenced operational recovery to the new regulatory framework. The hope was to refine the conclusions to assist in directing efforts of decision-makers to the most promising and targeted investment and contracting avenues that would enable a more reliable access to rail within intermodal chains.