Southern Line (Cape Town)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Southern Line" Cape Town – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Southern Line
Overhead catenary
Route map Legend 0:00 Cape Town N2 Eastern Boulevard Northern & Central Lines via Ysterplaat 0:03 Woodstock 0:06 Salt River Northern, Central & Cape Flats Lines via Maitland 0:09 Observatory N2 Settlers' Way 0:11 Mowbray 0:13 Rosebank Liesbeek River 0:15 Rondebosch 0:18 Newlands 0:20 Claremont 0:22 Harfield Road 0:24 Kenilworth 0:26 Wynberg 0:28 Wittebome 0:30 Plumstead 0:32 Steurhof Diep River 0:34 Diep River Cape Flats Line 0:36 Heathfield 0:39 Retreat 0:42 Steenberg 0:44 Lakeside 0:47 False Bay 0:48 Muizenberg 0:51 St. James 0:53 Kalk Bay Clovelly Silvermine River 0:58 Fish Hoek 1:00 Sunny Cove 1:05 Glencairn 1:10 Simon's Town This diagram: view talk edit

The Southern Line is a commuter rail line operated by Metrorail Western Cape, connecting Cape Town station in central Cape Town, South Africa with the Southern Suburbs and the towns on the west coast of False Bay, terminating in Simon's Town.

History

The Wynberg Railway Company was established in 1861 to build a railway line from

The extension to

In 2007, Cape Town Tourism, the City of Cape Town, and Metrorail collaborated to promote the Southern Line as a tourist route, focusing on tourist attractions near Cape Town, Observatory, Newlands, Muizenberg, Kalk Bay and Simon's Town stations. This includes a "hop-on, hop-off" ticket allowing unlimited travel on the line during off-peak hours.^[4]

Route

The line has a single service route, which begins at Cape Town station, with trains travelling east through Woodstock and Salt River on tracks shared with other Metrorail routes (the Cape Flats Line and the line towards Mutual). After Salt River, the route bends southwards, passing through the Southern Suburbs stations at Observatory, Mowbray, Rosebank, Rondebosch, Newlands, Claremont, Harfield Road and Kenilworth to Wynberg.

Beyond Wynberg, the route travels southwards stopping at Wittebome, Plumstead, Steurhof, Diep River, Heathfield (where it is joined by the Cape Flats Line) and Retreat; some Southern Line trains terminate here. Most trains on the line, however, continue south through stations at Lakeside and False Bay before reaching Muizenberg, where the railway line meets the False Bay coast.

From Muizenberg the line runs south-west, immediately beside the coast, with only a thin strip of rocks and beach separating the tracks from the sea. The stations at St. James and

References