South Africa and China are in active talks about the construction of a high-speed rail link between Durban and Johannesburg.
This is according to the Chinese ambassador, Chen Xiaodong.
The idea has been floated since at least 2010, when Sibusiso Ndebele, the then-minister of transport, first raised the idea and it has been mentioned in numerous speeches by government heavyweights since then, but nothing tangible has ever been advanced.
A major stumbling block to the project would be financial, but apparently there are a number of Chinese companies are ready to provide both project and vendor finance.
The development of a high-speed rail link between the two cities is viewed with scepticism by most observers, given the government’s current inability to even maintain existing infrastructure.