Andre Klynsmith

Mining and Commodities

R74 204 to Apply, Then a Formula: How Rail's New Safety Fees Land on Bulk Mineral Traffic

New rail safety permit fees for South African operators have been gazetted, with application charges running from R4 387 to R74 204 depending on the size and nature of the operation — and the highest band is defined by mineral and dangerous goods tonnage.

Mining and Commodities

11 September 2026 • 4 min read

The fee schedule is banded by tonnage and weighted by safety record, which means the bulk mineral and dangerous goods operators pay the most and carry the most variable charge. For anyone moving coal, ore or fuel by rail in Southern Africa, this is a cost line that now moves with incident history.

The application bands

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy published the fee determination for the 2026/27 financial year in the Government Gazette on 8 September. The charges apply to train, network and station operators moving mining commodities, dangerous goods, general freight or passengers, and cover the period from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

Large operators moving at least 500 000 tonnes of general freight, or 50 000 tonnes of dangerous goods, pay a non-refundable application fee of R74 204. Operators in the 200 000 to 500 000 tonne band pay between R4 392 for general freight and passenger operations and R25 519 for dangerous goods. Below 200 000 tonnes, application fees range from R4 387 to R10 196.

Safety record becomes a priced input

Existing operators' annual permit fees are calculated from operational activity and safety record rather than a flat charge. Incidents are assigned different weightings by severity, with categories including collisions, derailments, dangerous goods spills, freight fires, infrastructure theft and vandalism. The regulator will use verified occurrence and activity data from the 2024/25 reporting period.

Two things follow from that design. First, long-distance bulk haulage is structurally expensive under the activity component, because it multiplies high tonnage by long distance. Second, infrastructure theft and vandalism sit inside the safety component — so cable and track theft, largely inflicted on operators rather than caused by them, now feed into the permit bill.

Who is migrating, and why the names matter

Twenty-eight operators are migrating to the new fee model over three years. The list includes Transnet's Rail Infrastructure Manager and Traxtion Sheltam, alongside Richards Bay Coal Terminal, Grindrod Terminals Richards Bay, Saflog, Eswatini Railways and several mining companies.

That roll call is essentially the bulk mineral export chain plus a regional railway. Eswatini Railways in particular puts a SADC member state's operator inside a South African fee regime, which is a reminder that regional rail interoperability brings regulatory cost harmonisation with it. New private train operating companies entering under open access will be pricing these charges into their first business cases.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics — with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com