Stakeholders praise for speedy reopening of rail line

Praise went out this week to the various stakeholders involved in the recovery and clearing operations at the scene of a train derailment at Swakopmund.

 A freight train derailed around lunch hour on 16 March. A train operator was killed on impact, four locomotives were heavily damaged and at least eighteen railway wagons were also destroyed.

Within four days after the derailment, the area was cleared on Saturday (20 March) and the line was opened again for train traffic. The operations included teams of TransNamib replacing the stretch of rail track that was destroyed in the derailment.

Thanks to tireless work by both private contractors, emergency services and TransNamib, the accident scene was cleared of damaged rolling stock and the line was repaired and reopened.

The first trains already used the line by day end on Saturday.