PRASA reveals it's spent R1.3bn so far on getting CT's central line back on track

CAPE TOWN - The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) said it spent R1.3 billion so far to ensure that train services on Cape Town's central line were back on track.

It's the busiest train corridor in the Western Cape, transporting more than 600,000 passengers daily during peak times.

The central line was brought to its knees by illegal occupation of railway tracks and infrastructure vandalism just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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PRASA officials said they'd made inroads in recovering almost all train services, except for three train stations.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, together with PRASA officials, went on a train ride on Thursday from the Chris Hani train station in Khayelitsha to the Cape Town CBD.

This was part of the re-launch of train services to this leg of the city's central line.

PRASA CEO Hishaam Emeran said that the R1.3 billion spent excluded the procurement of new trains.

"It's mainly on the infrastructure recovery. Rebuilding the tracks, looking at our electrical infrastructure, the overhead lines and our substations that we had to rebuild, the passenger stations that we had to rebuild."

He added that that full train services should be restored by the end of July on all rail networks in the Mother City.