Central Line (Cape Town)
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| Status | Operational | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Overhead catenary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Central Line is a
Route
Central Line trains depart from Cape Town station on one of two routes. The first route runs along the original Cape Town–Bellville main line through Salt River to Maitland, and then branches south to pass around the western and southern edge of Pinelands to Langa station. The other route runs along the relief main line past Paarden Eiland and then branches south through Kensington to Mutual station; from Mutual it runs along the eastern edge of Pinelands to Langa.[2]
From Langa station all trains pass through
Most trains to Mitchell's Plain use the Salt River route from Cape Town to Langa, while most trains to Bellville or Khayelitsha use the Mutual route, but there are some exceptions.[1]
Station listing
The Central Line serves the following stations:[1]
Operation
The line is made up of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) track, electrified with 3,000 V DC
Current situation
After 2011, PRASA was increasingly unable to maintain the line and the Khayelitsha line ceased operation in 2019 due to vandalism and metal theft. More recently, plans to reopen it have been thwarted by squatters occupying the railway territory.[4][5][6] It is proposed to re-open the line by December 2022,[7][8][9] though many previous deadlines have been missed. Rail workers attempting to restore the line have been assaulted by armed gangs.[10]
References
- ^ a b c "Timetable: Cape Town to Langa - Lavistown - Kapteinsklip - Khayelitsha" (PDF). Metrorail Western Cape. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ a b "2010 Local passenger rail routes of South Africa: Western Cape: Cape Town" (PDF). Metrorail. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "New trains for Khayelitsha residents". West Cape News. 11 June 2009. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Petersen, Tammy. "Nearly 8 000 living on or around Cape Town's central train line - Metrorail". News24. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Payi, Bulelwa. "Prasa outlines plan to reopen the Central Line". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Payne, Suné (18 January 2022). "GETTING BACK ON TRACK: Cape Town's Central Line rail repairs could come to R2.5bn — Prasa chief". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- ^ Payne, Suné (15 May 2022). "PRASA BACK ON RAILS? : Informal settlements on Metrorail tracks still hinder progress on Cape Town's Central Line". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
- ^ Washinyira, Tariro (27 July 2022). "Will Cape Town's Central Line open in December? Mbalula says so…". GroundUp News. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ GroundUp, James Stent for (24 February 2022). "GROUNDUP: OFF TRACK: Prasa says Cape Town Central Line only to return to service in December 2022". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ^ Reporters, Daily Maverick (4 September 2022). "GANGSTERISM: Thugs 'with AK-47s threaten us, take our children's food' – worker in Cape Town train line extortion saga". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
