EThekwini Mayor urges action on long-awaited high-speed rail link between Johannesburg and Durban

eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba has called for action regarding high-speed rail link between Johannesburg and Durban which was first proposed fifteen years ago. 

“We are being accused of developing plans that never see the light of day,” he said during the launch of the municipality’s Public Transport Information Centre on Monday.

The launch brought together an array of stakeholders, including members of the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA), Human Settlements, Engineering and Transport committee, and Metro Police.

Xaba urged colleagues to look into the high-speed rail link between the two economic hubs. 

“We have been talking about the high-speed rail between Joburg and Durban for the longest time now. It is not getting off the ground. We started discussing this issue in 2010. (S’bu) Ndebele was Minister of Transport at the time,” Xaba said. 

He highlighted that President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated the issue of high-speed trains between Johannesburg and Durban in the 2024 State of the Nation Address. That was after the Cabinet in November 2023, had endorsed the idea. 

In his address, Ramaphosa said: “In November last year, Cabinet approved a framework for high-speed rail, focusing initially on the Johannesburg to Durban corridor.” 

“It’s high time that we start moving this idea,” Xaba said.

He shared that he had discussions with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)  when he was in Johannesburg and said they are keen to facilitate the project and get it off the ground and that they are willing to look at blended finance for the project. 

“If we succeed, it means that the city of Durban succeeds as well,” Xaba said. 

“People who come from this region and work in Johannesburg spend their weekends in Durban, (and a high-speed rail link will allow them to) spend their hard-earned income in Durban and unite with their communities with ease, and we can move tourists with ease between Johannesburg and Durban.” 

Xaba emphasised the urgency of this matter, stating it needs to be actioned and integrated swiftly.

He said the project is one of the issues that should looked at this Transport Month. 

“I know that national government was meant to release the National Rail Policy document this month and this item was going to feature strongly on it. Unless my colleague, Dada Morero (Johannesburg Mayor) and I drive it, I don’t think it will receive the speed with which the two cities think it’s warranted.” 

Last month, IOL reported that ANC eThekwini regional spokesperson Thinta Cibane welcomed the strategic engagement held between the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa regional leadership and Xaba. 

Cibane said the ANC views the proposed Durban–Johannesburg high-speed rail project as a transformative initiative that holds immense potential to stimulate economic growth, enhance tourism, and foster greater interconnectivity between KwaZulu-Natal and inland provinces. 

He said the ANC supported Xaba’s call for the acceleration of this project, which will not only boost trade and tourism but also create jobs and improve mobility for thousands of commuters.

thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za