Metrorail says initial glitches with Eerste River/Stellenbosch line reintroduction now solved
The rail operator introduced a limited train service on the line last Monday. It forms part of the national rail recovery programme, following extensive vandalism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Metrorail train at Cape Town station. Picture: @MetrorailWC/X
CAPE TOWN - Metrorail says it's been able to solve a number of teething problems that surfaced with the reintroduction of the Eerste River/Stellenbosch line.
The rail operator introduced a limited train service on the line last Monday.
It forms part of the national rail recovery programme, following extensive vandalism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The situation was made worse by flooding in the Lyndoch area in September 2023, which resulted in delays in planned recovery work.
Metrorail said when the line was last operational in March 2019, it had several thousands of commuters travelling from Stellenbosch, Strand and Eerste River to Cape Town.
The rail operator's Raymond Maseko: "On the Stellenbosch line, everything from Eerste River to Stellenbosch it's 14 kilometers and it's another 14 kilometers from Stellenbosch to Muldersvlei...All of that entire infrastructure, 28 kilometers of it, was completely vandalised. We have been able to rebuild it and I am glad that at least the commuters can reconnect through our network again."
Maseko said the entire network was hit hard by vandalism during COVID.
"When we stopped on the 26th of March [2020] for hard lockdown, when we came back some time on the seventh of July, we had 121 stations in the Western Cape, we could only operate 14 of those.
"We have now recovered more than 101 stations...The remaining 20 are between Chris Hani and Philippi and Kapteinsklip."
Maseko added that 11 stations along the Central Line still have to be rebuilt.