The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) said it has restored five rail services across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Prasa said 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)
Prasa added that extensions to Midway and Katlehong stations will be implemented at a later stage.
In the Western Cape, services between Cape Town and Stellenbosch will later be extended to Muldersvlei, and in KZN, the Merebank to Chatsglen line will later be extended to Crossmore.
Prasa said its has successfully brought 31 of 40 lines back into partial operation and it is focused on achieving full operational status in the near future.
“This milestone demonstrates our commitment to revitalising 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,” the railway agency said.
Prasa added that the temporary relocation of 891 households from the Philippi station area, has enabled them 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.”
Furthermore, Prasa said the growing demand for train services has propelled them to actively work on repairing vandalised signalling equipment.
“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,” said Prasa.
brenda.masilela@iol.co.za
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