The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) confirmed that it has been granted a commercial licence to run the ‘People’s Train’ (blue electric trains) on the Southern Line in Cape Town.
The blue train was unveiled and tested at the Cape Town station in 2019 already when President Cyril Ramaphosa and former transport minister Blade Nzimande journeyed from Cape Town to Mowbray train station.
According to PRASSA, the decision comes at a time where it wants to ramp up efforts to bring more rail corridors back to operation across the country. PRASSA said that ‘People’s Train’ is part of its modernisation programme that aims to bring state-of-the-art rail service to South Africans.
“It is part of our brand promise to deliver modern, faster, reliable, and cost-efficient train services. PRASA is committed to the safety of employees, passengers and communities. PRASA also endeavours to protect its assets,” PRASA said.
The Metrorail Western Cape has also been running the off-peak operations of the new electric trains on the Southern Line since November last year, while running the yellow grey trains during peak time.
PRASA’s acting Group CEO, David Mphelo further mentioned that their road to recovery is a painful one, but all the work put in is starting to bear fruit.
Meanwhile, the regulator’s decision means that the new trains can now run on both peak and off-peak hours.
