Second train derails on South Africa’s coal-export line

South Africa’s state-owned rail company Transnet SOC Ltd. is investigating a second derailment in as many weeks on the nation’s main coal-export line.

A locomotive traveling from Richards Bay, the site of Africa’s biggest coal terminal, derailed on July 11, shutting the route until the following day, the company said by email. Just eight days earlier, a coal train had run off the tracks on its way to the terminal, interrupting service.

The incidents threaten the steady transport of more than 70 million tons of coal a year to Richards Bay. Transnet has said it plans to reduce its dependence on outside contractors on concern they may benefit from emergency procurement connected to the derailments.