State rail utility Spoornet receives revenue of R1,8-million a year for leasing 10 passenger coaches to the rail organisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), says Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe.
Replying to a question from New National Party member of Parliament Keppies Niemann, who asked whether Spoornet passenger carriages were being employed in any African country, the minister said: “These coaches were surplus to the requirements of the Shosholoza Meyl [the internal passenger service] and would not have generated any revenue if left standing idle in South Africa.
“When the opportunity to lease coaches to the Democratic Republic the Congo arose, it was seen as a way of generating income for Spoornet.”
The DRC was the only country where Spoornet passenger coaches were being employed. – I-Net Bridge