A train arrives at Mzimhlophe Station in Soweto on 28 November 2022. (Photo: Fani Mahuntsi / Gallo Images)
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) announced on 2 April that three crucial rail lines in Gauteng opened at the end of March. These are: New Canada to Nancefield; Germiston to Khosini; and Johannesburg to Florida.
Prasa has also reopened the Cape Town to Stellenbosch line in the Western Cape and Merebank to Chatsglen line in KwaZulu-Natal.
The reopening of the three lines in Gauteng follows the return to service of 10 other rail lines in the province over the past 12 months, including key routes used by large numbers of commuters daily.
This brings to 13 the total number of reopened rail lines in Gauteng. Three still remain out of action.
The other operational rail lines in Gauteng are: Pretoria to Saulsville; Pretoria to Pienaarspoort; Pretoria to Dewildt; Pretoria to Mabopane; Mabopane to Belle-Ombre; Pretoria to Irene; Pretoria to Kempton Park; Leralla to Germiston; Naledi to Johannesburg; and Vereeniging to Union.
Gauteng Prasa spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng said the older train set, yellow in colour, will be used on the Vereeniging to Union route. The rest of the corridors will run the new EMU trains, known as Isitimela Sabantu or The People’s Trains.
In 2023, Prasa said it planned to spend R50-billion over three years on rolling stock and infrastructure investments for the modernisation, reconstruction and recovery of the rail network.
Commuter rail services came to a halt during the Covid pandemic, allowing theft and vandalism to run rampant.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Dead in our tracks: No trains, just more ruin as thieves and vandals strip Gauteng stations bare
Affordability is key
Thabo Musi, a Soweto resident who lost his livelihood following the destruction of the rail infrastructure, has been surviving on selling recycled waste for the past three and a half years.
Musi sold an assortment of goods on the trains and in the stations around Johannesburg.
“I cannot even travel to Johannesburg to hustle because I cannot pay R50 [on a taxi] when that money can buy my children three loaves of bread,” Musi told Daily Maverick.
Most commuters will tell you that the main drawcard for train travel is the affordability. It’s two to three times cheaper than a taxi.
A one-way taxi trip to Johannesburg costs Musi R27, while a train ride costs him only R8.50.
Nobuhle Zikalala from Lenasia would ordinarily use trains running along the Vereeniging to Johannesburg line, but because services remain cancelled, she walks several kilometres to access a train on the Naledi to Johannesburg line.
“It’s a huge risk to leave my house so early because of the high crime rate in the area … I have no choice but to use the cheaper trains,” Zikalala said.
She said it was exciting news that train services were steadily returning to many areas, as people were desperate for affordable means of transport.
“Even though the Johannesburg to Vereeniging line will only be extended to Midway and not to Lenasia, it’s still a huge win for many of us and I cannot wait for my first proper train ride in years,” Zikalala said.
Prasa’s Mofokeng told Daily Maverick, “No date has been set for resumption of services on the Vereeniging to Johannesburg corridor.”
Reversing decline
Prasa served 600 million passengers across the country annually before the theft and vandalism that erupted during the pandemic when rail services were suspended.
The government’s cancellation of security contracts further exacerbated the situation.
Read more in Daily Maverick: While vandalism and cable theft continue, Prasa makes progress in restoring rail services
In June 2023, Prasa axed board chairperson Leonard Ramatlakane.
In 2022, then transport minister Fikile Mbalula said Prasa’s use of copper had been drastically reduced to avoid theft. Many of the operations that used copper cables now use an aluminium replacement. DM