Commuters are relieved after the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) announced that train services have resumed between Cape Town and Langa. This forms the first of the Agency’s phased approach to opening the much-used Central Line.
The central line, which is Cape Town’s busiest train route, has been inoperational since October 2019. It serves communities such as Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Nyanga and Bonteheuwel.
The line has suffered severe damage because of theft and vandalism and a number of informal settlements have popped up on the defunct railway lines.
According to PRASA phase two, which entails construction work between Langa and Khayelitsha, is currently being hampered by residents of the Siyahlala informal settlement who have been illegally squatting on the line’s tracks since 2018.
The residents received a 10-day notice earlier in February, but say they have nowhere else to go. Leonard Ramatlalane, PRASA’s board CEO, said commuters are happy to be able to travel between Langa and Cape Town now.
Picture: Wikimedia Commons