New blue trains planned for Simon’s Town

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) had its first test run of its new blue train on the tracks between Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town earlier this month.

The blue train, or Electric Multiple Unit (EMU), was launched in 2022 to replace Metrorail’s yellow-and-grey trains, but it’s final stop on the southern line has always been Fish Hoek, and passengers travelling on to Simon’s Town had to catch the old trains.

Prasa spokesperson Zinobulali Mihi said engineering assessments had been done on the 6km stretch of line between Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town with the first trial run on Sunday June 2. She said the line from Fish Hoek to Simon’s Town had some of the sharpest curves in the province.

Civic groups have long questioned why the blue train couldn’t run to the “end of the line” as Ceres Rail’s historic passenger train, pulled by a steam locomotive, returned to Simon’s Town in March for the first time in six years (“Nostalgic train trip to Simon’s Town,” Echo, April 1).

The Simon’s Town Civic Association (STCA) met with Prasa in August last year to explore the possibility of resuming train services, including the Ceres Rail steam train, to Simon’s Town.

The parties, including the Simon’s Town Business Association (STBA) and the Simon’s Town Museum, argued that regular train services would not only boost businesses and tourism but would enable children from poor neighbourhoods up the line to visit the historic town for educational excursions (“Push to revive Simon’s Town train service,” Echo, August 4, 2023).

However, STCA’s Merle Evertse said there had been no communication from Prasa this year.

“We feel that the blue train coming, consistently, to Simon’s Town will be well utilised by both tourists and residents,” she said.

A regular train service would bring more visitors to two of the most popular tourist attractions in South Africa - Boulders Beach and Cape Point Nature Reserve, she said.

She said the STCA also hoped Prasa would upgrade the Simon’s Town station.

Simon’s Town resident Steph Mellor said the station was neglected and had poor security, and that following the meeting with Prasa last year, volunteers had cleaned the station and fixed dangerous electrical cables before the arrival of the steam train in March.

STBA chairperson Jenny Rogers said extending the blue train’s service would greatly increase foot traffic to the historic naval town and give businesses a boost.

The officer in charge at the South African Naval Museum, Commander Leon Steyn, said visitor numbers were down because of the unreliable train service to Simon’s Town.

“A large number of weekend visitors used to take the train from Muizenberg to visit Simon's Town, which also included our naval museum. The only way to get into Simon's Town during the annual Cape Cycle Tour, when roads are closed, used to be on the train.

“The re-appearance of the historic steam train to Simon's Town has already shown a welcome increase in visitors.”

The biggest contributor to the museum’s school tours used to be the EduTrain, which had brought about 100 children from disadvantaged backgrounds to the town’s museums, he said.

“We will welcome the return of a reliable passenger train service to Simon's Town, especially over the weekends and on public holidays.”

Train services between Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town have run intermittently due to sand on the tracks.

In January 2022, services resumed on the line after an absence of almost two years, but less than 24 hours later, the service was suspended again due to sand on the tracks.

At the time, Prasa told the Echo that the line was problematic due to its proximity to the sea (“Solution to clear sand from the tracks in the pipeline,” Echo, February 2018).

Ms Mihi said Prasa and the City had agreed last year on a “sand management pilot project” using sand traps at Simon’s Town.

“The pilot project has now ended, but we look forward to continuing the relationship through a possible appointment of a service provider to implement the same project over the next few months,” she said, adding that it, together with other sand-clearing measures in the area, had been quite effective.

Mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews said the pilot project, from November last year to April this year, was meant to show Prasa how to prevent wind-blown sand from accumulating on the railway line. It had been “very successful”, and Prasa had agreed it was effective, but no further agreement between the rail agency and the City had followed, he said.