Ramaphosa says his administration to focus on developing rail as 'backbone of transport'

CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa said his administration will be focusing on the development of rail as the "backbone of transport" in South Africa.

Ramaphosa said that fixing public transport in the country would play a big role in reducing poverty.

Writing in his latest newsletter, Ramaphosa admitted that the public transport system was in a poor state due to a lack of investment, but things were starting to improve as more South Africans return to rail.

Ramaphosa’s latest newsletter has focused on public transport as the country marks Transport Month.

Ramaphosa said that when the country’s transport system worked well, the cost of doing business was lowered, and the country’s products and services were more competitive.

The president also said that affordable public transport helped to reduce the cost of living for millions of South Africans, who spend a huge chunk of their salaries on transport.

With the focus now on rail, Ramaphosa said that much progress had been made in restoring urban passenger rail to full service.

He said that the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) had to date restored 31 out of 40 priority rail corridors back to operation, and by March 2024, 40 million passengers were using public trains, nearly three times more than the year before.