3.1 Overview of the Engineering Plant The Salt River plant is 150 years old and has been the heart of South Africa's transport network since 1862. It is central to the maintenance facilities that support the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore heavy haul export corridor and the general freight business in the Western Cape. Salt River supports the TRE locomotive and wagon business to maintain Transnet's 4km long iron ore train, which is the longest in the world. The plant completed the construction of the Phelophepa II Healthcare Train and build trains for Metrorail.