- The talk questions some key assumptions underlying South Africa's strategy of shifting freight from road to rail, including that it is being done successfully elsewhere, will lower business costs, and that rail's lower externalities make it preferable. - Four scenarios for expanding freight capacity between Gauteng and Durban were analyzed, finding a dedicated freight highway scenario and a new standard gauge mixed freight railway to be most cost-effective and fundable alternatives compared to solely upgrading the existing railway. - The talk argues for considering radically alternative institutional models and investing in rail projects only where intrinsic viability and value-add can be demonstrated, rather than assuming road-to-rail shifts or chasing unprofitable market share from road transport.