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Our story

From a bogie
to a group.

Almost thirty years of refining heavy-haul rolling stock — starting with the Scheffel bogie heritage and growing into a multi-business rail group.

  1. 1980
    1980s engineering

    Bogie engineering origins

    The engineering practice that would become Global Railway Engineering takes shape, building on the self-steering bogie work pioneered for the South African heavy-haul lines.

  2. 1990
    1990s milestone

    Wagon manufacture at scale

    The business expands from running gear into full wagon design and manufacture. Thousands of wagons enter service across South African and SADC freight networks.

  3. 2000
    2000s engineering

    Refurbishment programmes

    Heavy investment in refurbishment and overhaul capability. Legacy fleets — coal, ore, container, tank — are stripped, re-engineered and returned to traffic.

  4. 2010
    2010s milestone

    Engineering consulting arm

    The group formalises an engineering consulting practice — technical due diligence, fleet condition assessments, derailment investigation — serving rolling-stock owners and lessors.

  5. 2024
    2024 award

    Transnet “Extraordinary out of the Ordinary” recognition

    The group's contribution to South African rail engineering is recognised by Transnet at the “Extraordinary out of the Ordinary” programme — alongside other leading suppliers to the national rail network.

  6. 2026
    2026 launch

    MinRail operations to start

    The group's rail-operating business, MinRail, prepares to start running heavy-haul services under access concessions on the South African rail network.