The reliability of 43D diesel locomotives on the phalaborwa to Richards Bay corridor

The 43D diesel locomotives reliability performance en route on the Phalaborwa to Richards Bay corridor is bound with challenges, despite the efforts of Transnet SOC Limited, a South African biggest freight rail company responsible for transport within the country and across the borders. This case study uses a quantitative data analysis to investigate the reliability of 43D model of the locomotive rail freight operating within this route in the areas of maintenance cost, the effectiveness of the preventative maintenance, poor of asset availability., and to identify other operational management issues affecting this critical asset. The findings show that the inefficiency resulted from lack of training, inadequate maintenance schedules, and inappropriate location where maintenance is conducted. For remediation and mitigation purposes, it is recommended that proper techniques and preventive practices and schedules be implemented; good frequent training and performance assessment of the engineers and technicians be regularly conducted. In addition, a proper review of the asset service design, and the location of maintenance site be overhauled in the entire value chain.