Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has welcomed progress to reopen the central line, hailing it as a key milestone towards the future devolution of passenger rail services to the metro. The Mayor joined Transport Minister Barbara Creecy for a train trip from Chris Hani Station in Khayelitsha to Cape Town Station to mark progress on reopening the line on 29 May 2025.
‘The City warmly welcomes progress on reinstating the central line, and we are proud to play an enabling role in this presidential project. Working public transport is one of the most important ways we will break down the physical and economic exclusion that apartheid baked into our cities.
‘The revitalising of passenger rail complements the City’s major investment in affordable, safe and reliable public transport via the existing N2 Express MyCiTi bus service from Khayelitsha to the CBD, and the construction of the new multi-billion rand bus route to connect communities across the metro’s south-east, from Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, to Claremont and Wynberg.
‘Reinstating the central line is another step towards the devolution of passenger rail services to the City in line with national Cabinet policy and our constitutional mandate to provide an integrated public transport system.
‘In the coming months, the City will conclude detailed business plans for the takeover of passenger rail. We look forward to achieving more progress together with Prasa and the Minister towards the vision of one integrated ticketing system for different transport modes, and the massive scaling up of passenger numbers, new train sets, new routes, and to upgrade stations and surrounding areas with affordable housing over the next two decades,’ said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
The City’s is developing business plans for three potential ownership models:
- The City owns, operates and maintains the rail network, stations and trains; and absorbs Prasa personnel
- The City owns all rail related assets and concessions rail network, stations and responsibility for all train operations and maintenance. The concessionaire absorbs Prasa personnel
- The City procures a large scale integrated solution through a comprehensive concession
‘The City is in the final stages of business plan development for three preferred ownership models for passenger rail. This includes comprehensive funding strategies and operational management plans. It is critical that we keep expanding Cape Town’s rail infrastructure given our growing population. That includes the revitalisation of the central line and increasing capacity on other lines where demand is high, such as the route between Strand and Bellville, as well as expanding the service to areas where there are currently no trains at all, such as the implementation of the Blue Downs line,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.
Prasa further recently signed a Service Level Plan (SLP) to improve Metrorail in the short-term, which the City will monitor via a joint committee with Prasa. The SLP is a legally binding agreement which lays the foundation for future rail devolution to the benefit of Capetonians and our local economy.
As part of the SLP, the City also commits to providing the municipal services needed to support and enhance passenger rail; encouraging transit-oriented development along rail corridors; and to expediting permits within the City’s services and development planning authority roles.
