After Chris Hani rail corridor reopened, Hill-Lewis keen to see full train service resume in CT
CAPE TOWN - Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said he was happy to see trains moving again in the city, albeit at a reduced scale.
The mayor accompanied Minister of Transport Barbra Creecy, her deputy, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, and members of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) board, who reopened the Chris Hani corridor in Khayelitsha on Thursday.
This is one of the crucial links in Cape Town's central rail network.
Services in this line came to a screeching halt in November 2019 due to widespread theft and vandalism.
PRASA said that of the 124 Metrorail train stations in the province, only three did not have train access.
Cape Town's central line is considered the backbone of public transport in the Western Cape, ferrying more than half a million train commuters when operating at its peak.
Hill-Lewis said that the normal resumption of train services would be beneficial for all Capetonians.
"At the moment, it's costing you more than R40 to use a minibus taxi to get to town, and this is going to bring the cost for every resident of Khayelitsha down significantly. It's going to save you money, it's going to save you time - this is a very important public service."
PRASA said that full train services on the line would resume as soon as the three remaining train stations were reopened in a few months' time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
4 days ago
- Eyewitness News
PRASA reveals it's spent R1.3bn so far on getting CT's central line back on track
CAPE TOWN - The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) said it spent R1.3 billion so far to ensure that train services on Cape Town's central line were back on track. It's the busiest train corridor in the Western Cape, transporting more than 600,000 passengers daily during peak times. The central line was brought to its knees by illegal occupation of railway tracks and infrastructure vandalism just before the COVID-19 pandemic. ALSO READ: • Creecy hails reopening of Chris Hani rail corridor on CT's central line as a critical milestone • After Chris Hani rail corridor reopened, Hill-Lewis keen to see full train service resume in CT • Crucial link in Cape Town's central rail network reopens PRASA officials said they'd made inroads in recovering almost all train services, except for three train stations. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, together with PRASA officials, went on a train ride on Thursday from the Chris Hani train station in Khayelitsha to the Cape Town CBD. This was part of the re-launch of train services to this leg of the city's central line. PRASA CEO Hishaam Emeran said that the R1.3 billion spent excluded the procurement of new trains. "It's mainly on the infrastructure recovery. Rebuilding the tracks, looking at our electrical infrastructure, the overhead lines and our substations that we had to rebuild, the passenger stations that we had to rebuild." He added that that full train services should be restored by the end of July on all rail networks in the Mother City.
Eyewitness News
4 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Creecy hails reopening of Chris Hani rail corridor on CT's central line as a critical milestone
CAPE TOWN - The reopening of the Chris Hani to Cape Town leg of the central line has been hailed as a critical milestone in restoring full train services in the metro. The central line is Cape Town's most important rail corridor as it connects communities of Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain to the Cape Town and Bellville CBDs. At full capacity, it contributes 350,000 daily passenger trips to Cape Town's 680,000 train commuters. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy visited the city on Thursday to reopen the rail artery from Khayelitsha to the city centre. ALSO READ: Crucial link in Cape Town's central rail network reopens Minister Creecy said the recovery of the Cape Town central line had not been easy, with illegal occupation and infrastructure vandalism delaying the resumption of train services. Creecy said that a fully recovered central line had the potential to return a considerable number of commuters to the train, thereby easing the city's unbearable traffic congestion. "With this achievement, we are one step closer to returning passenger rail to its rightful place as the backbone of public transport and of economic growth in our country." She said that the reopening of the line from Chris Hani to Cape Town CBD was more than the reopening of a rail line, but a return to dignity, mobility, and hope for working-class Capetonians.
Eyewitness News
4 days ago
- Eyewitness News
After Chris Hani rail corridor reopened, Hill-Lewis keen to see full train service resume in CT
CAPE TOWN - Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said he was happy to see trains moving again in the city, albeit at a reduced scale. The mayor accompanied Minister of Transport Barbra Creecy, her deputy, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, and members of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) board, who reopened the Chris Hani corridor in Khayelitsha on Thursday. This is one of the crucial links in Cape Town's central rail network. Services in this line came to a screeching halt in November 2019 due to widespread theft and vandalism. PRASA said that of the 124 Metrorail train stations in the province, only three did not have train access. Cape Town's central line is considered the backbone of public transport in the Western Cape, ferrying more than half a million train commuters when operating at its peak. Hill-Lewis said that the normal resumption of train services would be beneficial for all Capetonians. "At the moment, it's costing you more than R40 to use a minibus taxi to get to town, and this is going to bring the cost for every resident of Khayelitsha down significantly. It's going to save you money, it's going to save you time - this is a very important public service." PRASA said that full train services on the line would resume as soon as the three remaining train stations were reopened in a few months' time.
