Transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga will officially launch the Nyanga to Cape Town service tomorrow. Photographer: Armand Hough. African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town - Western Cape Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga will officially launch the Nyanga to Cape Town train service on Tuesday, after Metrorail announced that the Central Line was up and running in the Cape Metro again.
Chikunga will take a train ride from Nyanga to Cape Town station to assess the work done to recover the rail infrastructure, and stations on the Central Line.
In a statement, Metrorail said the extension of the Cape to Langa service to Nyanga had been one of PRASA’s 2022/23 financial year commitments, and the resumption of services on March 20, marked a milestone in the full recovery of the Central Line.
Last month, Metrorail said they had completed trial runs with the yellow/grey trainset between Nyanga and Cape Town.
“The train service is an extension of the Cape Town to Langa service on the Central Line and will stop at Bonteheuwel and Langa stations as refurbishment work continues at Netreg and Heideveld stations.
“The resumption of the Langa - Nyanga line is a major achievement for the region as the Nyanga corridor has been non-operational since November 2019. As the region, we are happy to fulfil our obligations as a community-driven service provider of mass public transportation within the Cape Town Metropole, in particular the lower and middle-income customers. The Central Line is one of our biggest contributors to revenue collection and our commuter base,” Metrorail said previously.
Commuters should take note that the train will depart from Nyanga station to Mutual station, where they will be able to connect to a train to Cape Town.
Commuters travelling to Cape Town via Pinelands can connect with the train numbers that start with ‘95’ from Langa to Cape Town. They will also be able connect to the Northern Corridor (Bellville, Kraaifontein, Eerste Rivier and Wellington).
Cape Times