Abstract:
The passenger rail service came to a halt in Nov 2019 on the Central Line in the Western
Cape following a rampant theft and vandalism of infrastructure and stations at a scale
never seen before in South Africa. The suspension of the train services on this corridor
has had a severe impact on the business of PRASA to support commuters that depend on
the train service as a means of transportation and the company’s ability to collect revenue.
The proliferation of the construction mafia culture and gangsterism has not helped matters
in this part of the country.
During the hard covid-19 lockdown period in 2020 informal dwellers occupied the line
between Nyanga - Philippi, making the resumption of the train service even more difficult
as the dwellings needed to be removed first before the recovery work can resume.
PRASA decided to introduce a Service Recovery Programme specifically aimed at fixing
the infrastructure along this corridor with rehabilitation of the power supply network forming
an integral part of that programme. By early June 2024 a portion of the line was ready to
resume the train service following the rebuilding of the line.
