Project Pipeline

The Johannesburg–Durban High‑Speed Rail (HSR) Corridor is a proposed 600 – 720 km rail line designed to dramatically reduce travel times between Gauteng and KwaZulu‑Natal - from the current 12 hours to approximately 3 hours for passenger trips (at ~300 km/h), and 5 hours for freight movements (at ~160 km/h).

• Alignment & Terrain: Route spans approximately 600 km, traversing the challenging terrain of the Drakensberg Mountains, requiring advanced tunneling, viaducts, and long elevated sections
• Speed & Capacity: Designed for very-high-speed passenger rail at 300 km/h carrying up to 600 passengers per train, and separate freight service at 160 km/h transporting standard intermodal containers (~48 per train) 
• Ridership & Freight: Subjective forecasts suggest initial daily passenger volumes of 17,000, rising to 33,000–38,000 by 2050; annual freight capacity up to 4.2 million tonnes