Richards Bay Coal Terminal exports jump more than 10% as rail recovery takes hold

Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) shipped 57.66 million tonnes of coal in 2025, more than 10% up on the prior year, in what its chief executive Alan Waller called further evidence that Transnet's freight rail turnaround is starting to stick. The terminal, the primary export gateway for South Africa's coal producers, has capacity for up to 91 million tonnes a year but has operated well below that ceiling since rail performance collapsed earlier in the decade.

Locomotives and copper theft

Waller attributed the improvement to two operational fixes: the phased replacement of ageing Chinese locomotives with more efficient French-built 23E units, and a sharp reduction in copper cable theft along the coal line, which fell to 59km of cable stolen in 2025 from 180km in 2024. Ground teams using drones, foot patrols and dog units were deterring and preventing theft on the line, Waller said, a problem that had previously caused persistent train delays and cancelled export slots.

Around 80% of RBCT's coal was shipped to Asia in 2025, with India the dominant buyer, while Europe took about 7.2% and Africa, led by Morocco, took a similar share.

Targets for 2026

Waller said more than 60 million tonnes was 'on the cards' for 2026, with the terminal aiming to reach a consistent 65-million-tonne annualised rate by year-end if Transnet sustains its current trajectory. That would still leave RBCT well short of its nameplate capacity, but represents a marked recovery from the depths of the rail crisis, when exporters increasingly turned to costly road haulage through Mpumalanga to keep coal moving to port.

Why it matters

For producers such as Thungela, Exxaro, Glencore and Seriti, RBCT's throughput is the single biggest external variable determining how much of their coal reaches paying export customers rather than sitting in stockpiles. A sustained rail recovery lowers costs, reduces reliance on trucking, and gives miners more confidence to commit capital to new coal projects rather than run down existing reserves.

Sources

• Daily Maverick: Richards Bay Coal Terminal exports rise over 10% in 2025 in latest sign of Transnet reboot, 27 Jan 2026

Photo: Bulk carriers loading coal at Richards Bay Coal Terminal in KwaZulu-Natal. Ossewa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.