The total lenght of the track is 861km.
It connects Iron ore mines near Sishen in the Northern Cape with the port at Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape. It is used primarily to transport iron ore and does not carry passenger traffic.
A voltage of 50 kV AC was chosen instead of the usual 25 kV in order to haul heavier loads and to allow a larger distance between transformers.
A single-track line with 19 crossing loops allows trains travelling in opposite directions to pass. This is in order to increase line capacity.
Upgraded wagons now carry 100 tons each. Train lengths have been increased to 342 wagons, employing Radio Distributed Power (RDP) technology. In rail transport, distributed power (DP) refers to the physical distribution—at intermediate points throughout the length of a train.
These trains have 8 locomotives, a mix of electric and diesel-electric, and 342 wagons with a total mass of 41,400 tonnes and are 3,780 metres (12,400 ft) long!!
They are the longest production trains in the world. More than 3,000 of these RDP trains have been operated since launched in December 2007.
