From Gauteng to Gujarat (in western India), rail transport is reviving. Rail’s resurgence is thanks to anticipated long-term carbon taxes, increasing fuel prices and ordinary traffic congestion. The relatively recent $34 billion acquisition of America’s second largest railroad company by Warren Buffett, the world’s second richest man, signals a perceived long-term cost advantage over road. At the time of the purchase, Buffett said: “It’s a very efficient way of moving goods…” But will rail’s resurgence happen here?

In South Africa, railway tracks span 20 000km of territory, but virtually all of this is technically obsolete narrow gauge. The choice to use narrow gauge rail in South Africa was justified based on the often mountainous rural landscape as well as the need to synchronise with the rail system used in most mines. The advantage over standard gauge tracks was that it was cheaper, and given South Africa’s modest population in the 1860s, the first line in Durban and each subsequent track was made to the 1.067m specification. But modern standard gauge – such as the track used by the recently released Gautrain – can haul more, and do it faster. South Africa needs to modernise its entire rail infrastructure, an extremely expensive proposition, but strategically, it’s a necessary investment to keep the country’s business activities sustainable and competitive.