They were street hawkers on their way to buy stock in Johannesburg. They would be on the return train that night, laden with boxes and bags.

After two years of heavy discounting, retailers cut the number of products they held in stock rooms, in an attempt to train shoppers to buy items at full price rather than wait for sales.

The train, the latest model in the China Railway High-speed (CRH) Series, was produced in the northern city of Tangshan by the China northern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corp.