The rail sector in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region is coming back to life due to soaring road transport costs. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy says that with fuel prices on an upward trajectory, government needs to ensure rail effectively competes with road freight services.

She says government is committed to rehabilitating rail to reduce carbon emissions and ease transport costs for households and businesses, among other things.

Hon. Barbara Creecy, Minister of Transport of South Africa -SADC Interim Chairperson, speaking at the SADC High‑Level Ministerial Round Table Dialogue, emphasizes that SADC must harness new technologies in a coordinated way to strengthen aviation’s role in integration, trade and development. She noted opportunities through SAATM and AfCFTA, urged member states to address taxes, fees and regulatory barriers, stressing that strong regional commitment must be matched by effective implementation to unlock affordable and competitive air travel.

— Ministry of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting (@InfoMinZW) June 25, 2026

Creecy was speaking at the South African Railways Association conference in Johannesburg this week, under the theme “Reimagining Rail: Unlocking Investment and Industrialisation, Growth and Connectivity Across Africa.

South Africa’s rail industry is undergoing major shifts as rising fuel costs force commuters and businesses to explore cheaper transport alternatives.

Creecy says government is hard at work to ensure cheaper transport options for all through public-private partnerships, open-access network slots and private sector investment.

Currently, South Africa manages about 21 000km of freight network, which accounts for approximately 80% of Africa’s total rail infrastructure.

“Increased rail utilization, particularly in the context of elevated diesel prices, can ensure that freight rail more effectively competes with trucking, and my belief is that this is the case even if we’re talking about the utilization of diesel locos. Here in South Africa, through our rail entity Transnet, we are already working on rail corridor developments with both Eswatini and Botswana, as well as strengthening our existing rail ties with Mozambique,” says Creecy.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has ruled out seeking an increase in the fuel levy while she remains in office, saying motorists are already under too much financial pressure and the government must first address problems at the RAF.
https://t.co/Ga8hWMs9uO

— Cape town Etc (@CapeTownEtc) October 13, 2026

Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Joshua Sacco, says Zimbabwe is slowly moving from road freight to rail due to the recent boom in the country’s commodities.

“As a country, Zimbabwe has been experiencing quite a big mining boom, increased agricultural production, and for us, moving freight from the road onto rail is of utmost importance. And we’ve had exciting collaborations with our neighbors like Mozambique and Botswana on working on rehabilitation of our corridors from Machipanda, from Baira through Mutare to Harare,” says Socco.

Meanwhile, Malawi Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Bright Kuwembe, says rail is vital to Malawian citizens due to the high cost of road transport. Kuwembe says the Malawian government has been in talks with private players to rehabilitate the rail industry.

“There are a number of private sector players that have shown interest in working with the government. As you may be aware, the southern part of Malawi has always been affected by cyclones, and our rail line from Blantyre to the borderline with Mozambique has, over the years, been affected. The government of Malawi has started to build back that rail. We’ve only done 49 kilometers now, but there’s been interest, and one of the companies is from South Africa that would want to help us build back that rail and also operate on that rail,” says Kuwembe.

RELATED VIDEO | Transport Month | Creecy oversees improvements in PRASA