Abstract
Logistics is one of the most important and critical economic drivers which determines the rate at
which goods can be exported at the lowest cost. The paper reviewed Southern Africa rail freight
infrastructure and planning activities. It interrogated the academic and research institutes activities as related
to rail freight. A review of one of the biggest freight company Transnet was done to highlight extent of
application. The paper concludes by highlighting potential and the gaps in optimisation within Southern
Africa rail freight, which can be addressed using operations research techniques such as ant colony and
genetic algorithms with a view to inform decision making.