Johannesburg – The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) on Wednesday announced that it has restored five crucial Metrorail services in Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal, and the Western Cape.
The services restored as of the end of March 2024 include:
- Cape Town to Stellenbosch (Western Cape)
- Merebank to Chatsglen (KZN)
- Johannesburg to Florida (Gauteng)
- Johannesburg to Nancefield (Gauteng)
- Germiston to Elsburg (Gauteng)
“We have successfully brought 31 of our 40 lines back into partial operation and are focused on achieving full operational status for these corridors,” PRASA said in a statement.
“This milestone demonstrates our commitment to revitalizing passenger rail services, providing an efficient and cost-effective public transport option for South Africans.
“Significant progress is being made on the Central Line, with ongoing efforts to rehabilitate rail infrastructure from Phillippi to Nolungile and onwards to Chris Hani.”
PRASA said this work was facilitated by the temporary relocation of 891 households from the Phillippi Station area, enabling the company to proceed with necessary recovery work.
“This work builds on the recovery of the Cape Town to Nyanga services, which marked an important milestone on what is one of the most important passenger rail routes in the country,” the statement said.
The catastrophic decimation of the country’s rail infrastructure and train stations due to theft and vandalism occurred mostly during the Covid-19 shutdown from March 2020.
“Recognising the growing demand for our services, we are actively working to repair vandalised signaling equipment,” the statement added.
“These repairs are essential not only for the safe operation of our trains but also to increase the frequency of our services to meet our commuters’ needs.”
PRASA said the recovery of these lines has been made possible by dedicated staff across various regions, who have spared no effort and commitment in reaching these achievements, despite facing considerable challenges.
“We remain steadfast in our mission to restore passenger rail as the backbone of public transport in South Africa.”
