Capacity Quote by Thabo Mbeki
“Clearly, there needs to be an increase in the capacity of the railway system. That's why there are these projections of increasing the capacity to carry freight on the railways by 30% over the next five years or so, because the volume of goods moved up and down, imports, exports, and within the country, has grown much larger than the capacity. And this is part of the higher costs to business, because charges, for instance, at the ports become too high and they put up the prices of these goods, whether they are imports or exports. You want to reduce that.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Economic Policy Address, South Africa, 2005
The rail network lacks sufficient capacity for growing freight demand, leading to higher costs and price pressures.
In simple terms: Rail capacity is too low for current freight volumes, raising costs.
Key Takeaway
Invest in expanding rail capacity.
Themes
infrastructure
economics
trade
logistics
Mood
concerned
optimistic
Type
policy
analytical
When to use this quote
- freight transport
- port operations
- government budgeting
Key Concepts
capacity planning
public policy
cost management
Questions to Reflect On
- What investments can speed rail expansion?
- How to balance cost and speed of upgrades?
A Different Perspective
Higher capacity requires large capital and long timelines.
