President of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, will publicly unveil the Trans-Africa Locomotive (TAL) on the 4th of April 2017 in the country’s Capital City, Pretoria.
The TAL is the first locomotive conceptualised, designed and manufactured in Africa, by Africans within Transnet Engineering, for African conditions. It is an innovation that will assist in the realisation of the African Rail Renaissance.
Given that the locomotive’s Intellectual Property is owned by Transnet SOC Ltd, it is expected that assembly and manufacturing capacity and concerns will be set up, not only in South Africa, but in other countries in the continent. The TAL engineering excellence from design to manufacturing, its benefit for the growth of South African economy, its contribution to radical economic transformation, its link to the black industrialists programme, supplier development and job creation is aimed at arresting the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality will be explained in detail.
TAL will, not only contribute to economic growth in South Africa but also accelerate efforts for socio-economic regional integration and thus increase intra-Africa trade for the upliftment of the African people who still live in abject poverty due to lack of transport infrastructure, especially rail infrastructure, in remote and rural areas.
