21st of May 2024
At Kijfhoek, extensive work is being carried out on the reconstruction: the renewal of the tracks and the hump yard system. The first half is now almost complete. Starting today, Tuesday May 21 2024, wagons are once again being sorted on the tracks of bundles 4, 5 and 6. In recent months, the tracks have been replaced, a new hump yard system has been installed, and new emergency access roads and firefighting facilities have been set up. Since April 2, the hump yard system has undergone extensive testing. The testing phase has been successfully completed, and the tracks with the new hump yard system have been put into service.
Starting today, shunting operations will resume on the renewed tracks. However, patience is still required for humping operations. The process of obtaining a permit for the hump locomotives has not yet been completed. ProRail can obtain a temporary exemption for the infrastructure, allowing the tracks to be put into service immediately after the testing phase. Unfortunately, this is not possible for rolling stock. It is expected that the hump locomotives will receive their permits by mid-June. At that point, humping operations can resume.
Due to earlier delays in the project, the necessary documentation for the new hump yard system became available too late. Consequently, preparation for maintenance was primarily focused on utilising the new infrastructure for shunting operations. In the coming weeks, the maintenance staff at Kijfhoek will use this documentation along with the practical experience gained from testing the system.
Continuation of the project: the second phase
This project now proceeds with the reconstruction of the remaining bundles 1, 2 and 3. The reconstruction of bundle 3 already began on April 2, with new tracks being laid. For bundles 1 and 2, the demolition of the old system and tracks is now starting. The plan is to complete this second phase of the reconstruction in the first quarter of 2025. Subsequently, this renewed infrastructure will also undergo extensive testing. If everything goes according to plan, the new infrastructure will be put into service at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
