Sishen–Saldanha railway line
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Sishen–Saldanha railway line, also known as the Ore Export Line (OREX), is an Script error: No such module "convert". heavy-haul railway line in South Africa.[1] It connects iron ore mines near Sishen in the Northern Cape with the port at Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape.[1] It is used primarily to transport iron ore (60 million tonnes per year)[2] and does not carry passenger traffic.
The Sishen–Saldanha line was built by Iscor, the then iron and steel parastatal, opening in 1976.[3]
In 1977 the line was transferred to Transnet Freight Rail, then known as South African Railways & Harbours, and was electrified.[3] A voltage of 50 kV AC was chosen instead of the usual 25 kV to haul heavier loads and allow greater distance between transformers.
A single-track line with 10 crossing loops to allow trains travelling in opposite directions to pass was constructed. The number of crossing loops has increased to 19 to increase line capacity.[1]
From an altitude of Script error: No such module "convert". at Sishen, the line climbs for Script error: No such module "convert". before descending to cross the Orange River about Script error: No such module "convert". downstream of Groblershoop.[1] For the next Script error: No such module "convert"., the line rises and falls before descending towards the Atlantic coast.[1] The railway crosses the Olifants River on a Script error: No such module "convert". viaduct between Vredendal and Lutzville[3] and reaches the coast about Script error: No such module "convert". north of Saldanha.[1] From there the line follows a coastal route.
Initial train lengths consisted of three class 9E electric locomotives, hauling 210 type CR ore wagons with a payload of 80 tonnes.[3] Upgraded wagons now carry 100 tonnes.[1] Train lengths were increased in 2007 to 342 wagons, employing Radio Distributed Power (RDP) technology. These trains (initially with 10 locomotives, a mix of electric and diesel-electric) and 342 wagons have a total mass of 41,400 tonnes and are Script error: No such module "convert". long, the longest production trains in the world. The same 342-wagon trains are now powered by just five 15Es, crewed by one driver and one assistant.[2]
The train length was increased in October 2019 to 375 wagons.[4]
Script error: No such module "wide image".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
See also
- South African Class 9E, Series 1
- South African Class 9E, Series 2
- South African Class 15E
- South African Class 34-000
- South African Class 34-400
- South African Class 34-500
- South African Class 34-900
- South African Class 43-000
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".