|
Home Travel - Info - Travelogues - Photographs - Tips - By Rail South Africa - Info - Coffee Shops - By Rail Sport - Info - Software - Statistics Personal - Travelogues - Photo List - Photo Show Miscellaneous - Astronomy - Toastmasters - Animal Behaviour - Links - Downloads - Contact Me |
| Rail Travel in South Africa | 21 December 2009 |
 |
| A MetroRail train at Kalk Bay in the Western Cape |
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), formed in 2009, controls most scheduled passenger trains in the country. It owns MetroRail, Shosholoza Meyl, Premier Classe and the Blue Train, as well as Intersite (who manage train stations) and AutoPax (a long-distance bus company). Many tourist train services are privately owned and run, often by unpaid volunteers.
Detailed information on getting around South Africa by train can be found at The Man in Seat 61, a thorough and comprehensive site dedicated to worldwide train travel.
A detailed travelogue (with pictures) of my Premier Classe train trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and back in January 2009 can be found here.
If you see any mistakes in the lists below, or would like to have a link added, please email me.
| Scheduled Passenger Services | |
| Shosholoza Meyl | Operates frequent inter-city trains between major centres such as Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, East London, Kimberley, Pietermaritzburg, Musina (formerly Messina) and Nelspruit. |
| Kei Rail | Operates daily trains between Mthatha (formerly Umtata) and Amabele in the Eastern Cape, with a connecting bus service from Amabele to East London. Owned by the Eastern Cape Department of Transport. |
| MetroRail | Operates commuter trains in and around major cities - Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London (now also including a service to King William's Town). |
| Gautrain | Still under construction ; the first phase will open in 2010. When completed, it will provide a high-speed, standard gauge service between Pretoria, Johannesburg and OR Tambo (formerly Johannesburg International) Airport. Owned by a consortium comprising the Gauteng Department of Transport and some private companies. |
| Tourist Services | |
| Premier Classe | Operates luxury trains on a few selected routes, such as Cape Town-Kimberley-Johannesburg, Cape Town-George-Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg-Pietermaritzburg-Durban. |
| Outeniqua Choo-Choo | A regular steam-hauled service between George and Mossel Bay. The train used to operate between George and Knysna, but severe floods in 2006 caused damage to the tracks on the Knysna route ; as of December 2009 these have not yet been repaired. |
| Apple Express | A narrow-gauge steam-hauled service from Port Elizabeth to various destinations. It normally only operates over weekends and school holidays. |
| Blue Train | Ultra-luxury trains on certain selected routes. |
| Umgeni Steam Railway | Steam excursions in rural KwaZulu-Natal. |
| Paton's Country Narrow Gauge Railway | Weekend trips on narrow gauge tracks in KwaZulu-Natal. There are two different routes - one from Ixopo and another from Creighton and Underberg. |
| Oosterlijn Steam Tours | Steam trips from Waterval Boven in Mpumalanga. |
| Atlantic Rail | Day trips (sometimes steam-hauled) from Cape Town. |
| Hex Pass Eco Trek | Trolley rides up the old Hex River Pass railway (built in the 1870's but bypassed and abandoned when a shorter route through the Hex River Mountains was completed in 1989). |
| Charter Train Tours | |
| Rovos Rail | Ultra-luxury trains on various routes in Southern Africa, sometimes steam-hauled. |
| Shongololo Express | Multi-country train tours of Southern Africa. |
| JB Train Tours | |
| Rail Organizations and Enthusiast Groups | |
| Railway Society of Southern Africa | (RSSA) Covering all aspects of rail in Southern Africa. |
| Friends of the Rail | Based in Pretoria. |
| Reefsteamers | Based in Germiston. |
| Cape Western Railway Society | Based in Cape Town. |
| Cape Railway Enthusiasts Association | (CREA) Based in Cape Town. |
| Heritage Rail Association of South Africa | (HRASA) An umbrella body for heritage railway operators. |
| SA Steam Preservation Association | |
| SAR Steam | |
| Steam in Action | (SIA) Dedicated to rail preservation in Southern Africa. |
| 2 Foot Preservation Trust | Dedicated to the preservation and continued operation of South Africa's narrow gauge railways (two feet, 24 inches, 610 millimetres). |
| Train Travelogues and Journals | |
| Cape Town-Port Elizabeth | A return trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth on a Shosholoza Meyl Premier Classe train in January 2009. |
| Cape Town-Johannesburg | A 1-way trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg on a Shosholoza Meyl Premier Classe train in December 2007. |
| Other | |
| Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa | (PRASA) The government-owned body that controls most passenger rail in South Africa ; it owns Shosholoza Meyl, MetroRail, Premier Classe, the Blue Train and Intersite. |
| Transnet Freight Rail | (TFR) Handles almost all freight traffic in South Africa. |
| Intersite | Owns and manages train stations throughout South Africa. |
| Railways Africa | An excellent monthly printed and online magazine reporting on African rail news. |
| Tracks Across the Veld | The definitive book on rail travel in South Africa. Written by Boon Boonzaaier and based on his extensive experience in running Bushveld Train Safaris (a train tour company). It covers almost every section of railway line in South Africa that was operational at any time after the late 1980's, and is filled with photographs, maps and detailed descriptions of each route. |
| SA Rail News Blog | Current South African rail news - privately maintained. |
| RailRoad Association of South Africa | |
| Railway Safety Regulator | |
| Sandstone Heritage Trust | Dedicated to the restoration and preservation of heritage rail equipment (locomotives, coaches, rolling stock, etc). Based in the Free State, it is privately run and funded. |
| Old Steam Locomotives in South Africa | Photos and information about plinthed and forgotten steam locomotives in South Africa. The site seeks to promote awareness and appreciation for these once living machines. |