The rail operations of South Africa's state-owned freight logistics group Transnet may be split into a separate firm if proposals by the Department of Transport are implemented, the Business Day newspaper reported.

Transnet operates South Africa's entire rail network but has been unable to keep pace with demand, including by coal producers who export to China and India.

Bottlenecks have constrained exports and economic growth and put pressure on the country's road network as heavy trucks have to do the work that trains cannot.

Under the proposal, which would require cabinet approval, Transnet's infrastructure assets would be housed in a separate state-owned rail utility which would manage them on behalf of the government, Business Day said.

The newspaper also said that parts of the rail network would be open to the private sector under a draft policy. (Reuters)