Cape Town

Public Train in Cape Town

Cape Town’s railway system has two divisions. Metro Rail operates the suburban services, which run from Cape Town Station in Adderley Street to the Southern Suburbs, the Cape Flats, the African townships (Langa and Khayelitsha) and outlying towns such as Bellville and Stellenbosch. Spoornet operates the mainline services, with daily trains in various classes to Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Metro Rail

Metro Rail has four major routes in Cape Town. They are as follows:

• The Cape Town – Bellville – Wellington – Stellenbosch – Strand Route
• The Cape Town – Langa – Bellville – Kapteinsklip – Khayelitsha Route
• The Cape Town – Cape Flats Route (via Woodstock, Athlone, Meitland and so on)
• The Cape Town – Wynberg – Simon’s Town Route

Trains leave every ten to fifteen minutes for the popular destinations (such as Wynberg, Retreat and Fish Hoek) and less frequently (every 40 minutes or so) for the less popular destinations (such as Simon’s Town). You can view schedules online at http://www.capemetrorail.co.za/_timetables_index.htm.

Getting your ticket is simple. Determine the stations where you will begin and end your journey, the time of day, how often you’re going to be traveling (there’s a range of tickets for single, return, weekly and monthly commuters) and purchase your ticket at the station ticket office, located inside every station building. You can also buy tickets from Metro Rail ticket officials, who roam the trains with portable ticket dispensers.

For ticket pricing information, visit http://www.capemetrorail.co.za/ to calculate the cost of traveling between different areas. Fares, which start at around R7 (a trip to Muizenberg costs only R8.50), are inexpensive and make Metro Rail travel extremely affordable.

For more information, contact Metro Rail toll-free on 0800 65 64 63 or visit http://www.capemetrorail.co.za.

Spoornet

This operator runs several mainline services. Its primary service is Shosholoza Meyl (formerly Mainline Passenger Services) which has 8 primary routes linking South African cities, with smaller towns along each route. Shosholoza Meyl operates three different classes of train:

Tourist Trains (sleeping cars & restaurant car only)

• The Johannesburg – Cape Town – Johannesburg route
• The Cape Town – Durban – Cape Town route

Economy Trains

• The Johannesburg – Cape Town – Johannesburg route
• The Durban – Bloemfontein – Kimberley – Cape Town – East London route
• The Cape Town – East London Route

Tourist and Economy Trains cost between R300 and R600. At the upper end this includes a berth in a 2 to 4 sleeper bedroom, and use of the shower and dining facilities.

For further details, call (toll-free) 08600 088 88. Business hours are 08:30 to 16:30 on weekdays, and 08:30 to 12:00 on weekends and public holidays. Alternatively, visit http://www.shosholozameyl.co.za.

Semi-Luxury Premier Class Trains

This is a relatively expensive service aimed at the upper end of the market, starting at around R1500. Trains offer luxury accommodation and dining on two routes from Cape Town:

• The Cape Town – Kimberley – Johannesburg route (twice weekly)
• The Cape Town – Oudtshoorn – Port Elizabeth route (weekly)

Visit https://www.cbsc.co.za/ to find out fares or book online.

For reservations, call 08600 088 88 or e-mail info@premierclasse.co.za.