After being closed for three years, the railway between Langa and Nyanga has resumed services for commuters from Cape Town.
Due to vandalism of the infrastructure and the illegal occupation of the railway during the Covid-19 lockdown, the line was closed for three years, preventing commuters from having access to an affordable form of public transportation.
After using the train to travel from Nyanga to Cape Town, the Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, commented on the work done to recover the rail and train station infrastructure on the Central Line.
“Restoring passenger rail services in the country is a key priority that will put us back on a path towards the realisation of our long-term objective of positioning passenger rail as the backbone of our public transport system.”
Restoration consisted of re-railing between Bonteheuwel and Heideveld, replacing sleepers that support tracks between Langa and Pinelands, replenishing ballasts on the Khayelitsha line, and replacing 100 000 fasteners and clips to keep the rails intact.
The restoration of the first phase of the Langa to Nyanga railway was completed last month.
However, 7.5km of the overhead equipment has been vandalised since it was replaced.
In 2011, the railway was moving about 58 million commuters during the year.
In 2021, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) began the process of recovery and restoration for essential high-volume corridors that had experienced vandalism.
By December of 2022, they had restored 13 corridors.
Currently, 16 corridors have been restored, including the Pretoria to Centurion line which was launched last week.
Restoration is still continuing at the Heideveld and Netreg railway stations.
“The recovery of the Central Line is being undertaken in phases. This phased approach allows PRASA to rebuild, restore train services while the process for the relocation of the illegal occupants on the rail line and reserve is being finalised,” Chikunga said.
“Phases 1A, Cape Town to Langa via Pinelands and Phase 1B, Langa to Bellville via Sarepta were completed in July 2022. Numerous oversight visits in the province were conducted by my predecessor, and the work continues under my leadership and guidance.
“A lot of work has gone into recovering phases 1A and 1B, which included rail tracks, the replacement of 27 kilometres of Overhead Track Equipment.
“We must commend Prasa for using its own internal teams for the recovery of rail tracks, including re-sleepering between Pinelands and Langa, replenishing the ballasts, and replacing 125,000 fasteners and clips in the first two phases,” said Chikunga.
Currently, the restorations to railways and stations have cost a total of R642m, of which Langa to Nyanga cost R420 million.
The government is planning to invest a total of R1.2 billion to recover the Central Line. In the process of restoration, 20 local SMMEs were contracted, and 225 opportunities for employment were created.
“I am pleased that our investment in recovering the Central Line is starting to pay dividends; 922 job opportunities have been created, with 475 young people below the age of 35 employed and 22 local Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises hired.
“The Bonteheuwel and Nyanga stations have been partially recovered for basic functionality to allow commuters access to the trains. The work to fully recover the stations is ongoing.
"Ticket offices and ablution facilities have been renovated, passenger shelters have been refurbished, and painting of the platforms and subways completed to enhance customer experience," said Chikunga.
The only remaining obstacle to maintaining the railways is the relocation of illegal settlements on the railway line.
"The relocation process requires an intergovernmental approach that involves all spheres of government, with various committees put in place to ensure the relocation process runs smoothly.
“A social compact was signed between all the three spheres of government involved and the affected communities," Chikunga said.
"The relocation process will take place in two phases, with Phase 1 being to relocate approximately 1 254 structures located near Langa Station, within the railway reserve.
"Phase 2 of the relocation process is targeting to relocate approximately 3 688 informal dwellers at Philippi Station and 253 illegal dwellers at the Khayelitsha Station."
In an effort to reduce the accompanying issues with vandalism, Prasa is deploying an integrated security plan to protect the railways.
"On the Central Line, Prasa deployed an intervention unit in October 2022 with huge success.
The security strategy also included the integration of communities and creating job opportunities.
"The intervention unit has created 1 354 jobs from various communities along the central line. Of the 1 353 jobs created, 320 are women, 567 young people below the age of 35, and 326 elderly people between 58 and 68 years," Chikunga said.
Chikunga announced that the next step after recovery is to implement universal access for passengers with special needs at the stations.
"This work will be done under the station modernisation programme.” - SAnews.gov.za
