The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) says it will be reopening several rail lines by the end of October.
The agency says it has made progress in fixing vandalised infrastructure.
As part of the R2.7 billion reconstruction and recovery plan, PRASA says it has reduced the amount of copper in its infrastructure by 70%
Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makana says: “So the Pretoria to Pienaarspoort, we’ll be recovering that service by September. We’ll be recovering the Naledi line for people living in Soweto, that service will also be coming on line.”
“Also for people living in the areas around Tembisa, Kempton Park, we are recovering the Leralla line, a lot of progress going ahead. We’ve had to repair the infrastructure, a lot of work has gone into making sure that by end of October we bring back services.”
Meanwhile, PRASA says it will operate a special charter train for the Comrades Marathon later this month, in an effort to reduce traffic congestion on highways.
Between August 26-29, Shosholoza Meyl services will provide clients with two packages, one geared towards consumers who desire something extra and the other for budget-conscious travellers.
PRASA finalising special charter service to KZN for Comrades Marathon:
PRASA’ spokesperson Andiswa Makanda says, “There’s been a huge demand for the resumption of PRASA’s inter-provincial services, and so the Comrades Marathon became the perfect opportunity for us to roll out our trains to show that we are doing work to recover the services, especially for long distance travellers.”
