SOUTH AFRICA | Railways

[Inertia]

Park Station:







Rosebank:







Sandton:















Marlboro:













N3 underpass:









Rhodesfield:







Hobitton?



Undeground:





Viaducts:
























Courtesy www.gautrain.co.za

[Mo Rush]

Cape Town has a well developed and structured rail network also developed to fan out radially from the CBD in an extensive system that provides
good penetration of the entire Metropolitan area except the Milnerton area to the north of the CBD and the Durbanville corridor north of Bellville. The rail network covers approximately 290 kilometres with 118 stations of which 33 are owned by Spoornet and 97 stations are within the City of Cape municipal area (CPTR, 2005).

The lines radiate from Cape Town station to the South (Simon’s Town and Cape Flats lines), Southeast (Kapteinsklip and Khayelitsha lines) and East (Bellville, Monte Vista, Wellington, Strand and Stellenbosch lines). Cape Town station is the largest station and also serves the most passengers with 621 trains entering and leaving the station on a typical weekday. Trains on the mainline routes do not operate any later than 20h00 or earlier than 05h00.

Unfortunately, the rolling stock is in a poor and deteriorating condition and according to the Rail Framework Plan (City of Cape Town, 2005) it would appear as if this is the single biggest problem facing the operation of the rail system. The other major problems facing the rail operation is security and safety, reliability (88% of trains on time), service levels and overcrowding. These issues have resulted in a general shift away from rail transport to mainly minibus taxi transport for commuting.

The rail system links Cape Town with the surrounding region, with lines going to Boland Winelands, Wellington, and into the Overberg area.

[HigerBigger]

[Mo Rush]

Thanks, was just about to load that.

Do you mind saving it as a jpeg and uploading it in photobucket please. The image is a bit large.

[Mo Rush]

[Svartmetall]

The frequency always seems to be a bit on the low side outside of peak hours.

[city_thing]

I was looking through the Cape Town Government's rail website a few months ago and saw that frequencies [more of less] were 15 minutes [I can't remember the finer details though, like whether this was for outer-suburban stations and within peak hour]

15 minutes seems on par with most Australian cities outside of peak - so it doesn't seem too bad. The times I saw could be for more central, multi line stations though, in which case that's quite poor.

The city seems to have quite good coverage. Though I'm not sure of Cape Town's sprawl and whether those outer areas are reached. I love the fact that they're building an express link to the airport though.

[Mo Rush]

Cape Town Airport to City Rail Link (2010-2012)

It will supplement the dedicated Airport to City BRT link.

- 4km elevated rail link to connect to Bellville-Sarepta Line
- Link to the West Cape Town preferred
- Option to link to East Cape Town via Bellville in future
- Long term link to Metro South East explored and detailed
- Current travel time under existing network capacity: 25 minutes

Status: Negotiations underway with preferred bidders

[Svartmetall]

Originally Posted by city_thing

I was looking through the Cape Town Government's rail website a few months ago and saw that frequencies [more of less] were 15 minutes [I can't remember the finer details though, like whether this was for outer-suburban stations and within peak hour]

15 minutes seems on par with most Australian cities outside of peak - so it doesn't seem too bad. The times I saw could be for more central, multi line stations though, in which case that's quite poor.

The city seems to have quite good coverage. Though I'm not sure of Cape Town's sprawl and whether those outer areas are reached. I love the fact that they're building an express link to the airport though.

Well, it depends. Off-peak frequencies to multi-line stations like Bellville get an average of 4-6 services per hour (irregularly spaced) as Bellville acts as a terminal for all trains going to all sorts of locations (such as Stellenbosch and Strand) whereas lines that go on to Malmesbury or Worcester from Bellville only run a couple of times a day. Each destination gets a service every hour off-peak during the week. At the weekend the service frequency can drop to every two hours. The last train for this group of lines leaves at 21:00 from Cape Town station.

The Simonstown line runs 3 times an hour off-peak, but does post some impressive peak frequencies, however, service finishes at 20:00 (from Cape Town station). It runs between 2-3 times each hour on Saturdays with the last service leaving Cape Town station at 18:46 and 1-2 times an hour on Sundays with the last service leaving Cape Town station at 19:42.

As for lines like the Bonteheuwel line, it's almost impossible to discern a frequency due to the number of locations the line serves (much like the Bellville group of lines). Each destination gets a service between 1-2 times each hour off-peak in the week with services finishing at 20:20 from Cape Town Station.

The Cape Flats line gets a train 1-2 times an hour off-peak with the last train leaving Cape Town at 19:22.

So you see, the frequencies are highly variable depending on the line. The peak frequencies are impressive, but off-peak frequencies are pretty shocking to certain areas as are the times of operation with train services ending very early (the latest I can see is 21:00). The biggest problem with the system though, in my opinion, is the fact that the times of departure are so random. I don't know whether it is due to capacity constraints on the lines that mean you get bunching if these times are not used, but clock-face timetables for destinations would be a much better way to run the system.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing about upgrades to the system. I'm sure Mo will keep us up to date.

[city_thing]

Is there any transport system you're not an expert on Svart?

I'm surprised to see how early many of the lines close.

[Mo Rush]

Cape Town Station
Cost: $50 million
Status: Under construction, first upgrade in over 3 decades



The Cape Town railway station complex, which was built in 1961 and covers between 25 and 35 city blocks, is under- going a multimillion-rand redevelopment.

Property management company Intersite regional manager Lindelo Matya says: “The first phase of the multi-phased development, which has already quietly started behind the scenes, will be completed by December 2009 in preparation for 2010 FIFA World Cup.” Metrorail, which estimates that Cape Town station will attract cl4ose to 150 000 commuters during the World Cup has allocated close to R500-million for the first phase of refurbishment.

The initial phases, known as Cape Town Station 2010 Projects, will transform the station into a retail and entertainment centre by 2010 and consist of alterations and additions incorporating remedial works. Matya says: “The reimaging to be done at Cape Town station ahead of the 2010 World Cup would be the first phase and should give a fair idea of what the station could look like for the next 50 years.”

The subsequent phases of refurbishment and revitalisation of the station is planned to continue after 2010. The subsequent phases of refurbishment will investigate the long-term development and expansion of the primary transport exchange centre for the city of Cape Town. Metrorail will replace its entire fleet over 15 years as part of the subsequent phases. Matya says: “The proposal to sink the railway system below ground level between Cape Town, Woodstock and Esplanade stations is still being investigated.”

Intersite, commuter transport operator Metrorail and commuter rail services provider Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), along with other key stakeholders, including local municipality City of Cape Town, community-based organisation Central City Partnership and the provincial government, are involved in the initiative to revitalise the station.

Ariya Projects was appointed as part of a consortium of established project management companies to head a multidisciplinary team on this project. The team includes architects, engineers, town planners, and heritage consul- tants, besides others. The team will be involved in the short- and long-term development projects.

The first phase of the project involves the upgrade of the shops and informal trading areas and the station deck precinct. New features include a transport museum, an art gallery, a travel agency, a bureau de change, an Internet café, a local crafters’ market, convenience stores, restaurants, fast-food outlets, a small conference venue and medical services.

Construction on underground services and basic infrastructure began in 2007, while alterations to the existing station buildings began in September last year. The project aims to change the station into a vibrant public transport centre that will renew confidence in passenger rail and draw people back to public transport. It also aims to change the Cape Town central business district, in the hope that it will be a catalyst for further renewal and investment in the city. “Transport and city development are intrinsically connected,” Matya emphasises.

Cape Town station serves as an interchange for a number of other modes of transport, inclu- ding minibus taxis, long-distance bus services, metered taxis and commuter buses. As a central transport interchange, the station will be the gateway to the city for scores of soccer fans. The new rail link between Cape Town station and Cape Town International Airport will add four to five new train sets and a whole new group of commuters to the service.



Ticket and information areas



Long distance bus terminal



Area around the glass box



Upper Deck Traders Area




Central Walkway



Station Square



Strand Street View



Concourse on the other side



Another concourse interior area

[Mo Rush]

Cape Town Station Progress




Tiles coming soon once ticket office opens




New ticket sales office to open 10 June




Strand Street



Glass Box



Knuckle Building



Outside new food court

[kjetilab]

I have been just seconds away from being robbed on my way out of that station (only time in SA), so the improvement is both welcome and neccesary. Especially when the airport link is completed... And it looks so sad and depressing now.

[Mo Rush]

Two new stations opened in Khayelitsha

By Cindy Witten
10 June 2009

Metrorail is proud to announce the opening of two new train stations in Khayelitsha. Kuyasa and Chris Hani stations started operating on Monday morning.

“Kuyasa and Chris Hani stations is an extension of the Khayelitsha line and forms part of a Presidential Urban Renewal Programme,” said Metro Rail spokesperson Riana Scott.

The Urban Renewal Programme (URP) forms part of a national urban renewal strategy that was announced by former President Mbeki in his State of the Nation address in February 2001.

Metrorail says that this project is to “enable systematic and sustained interventions to alleviate poverty and significantly address under-development and socio-economic exclusion in Khayelitsha and Mitchell's Plain”.

“We are very happy to say that the two stations are open for operations and the community is thankful that they’ve got an alternative form of transport.”

A single Metro ticket for trains travelling from Cape Town to either Kuyasa or Chris Hani Stations costs R7.30, while a single Metro ticket between Khayelitsha Station and Kuyasa or Chris Hani Stations sells for R4.20

[Andrew_za]

Finishing touches to new offices which are now Open
image hosted on flickr

New Food Court Area( over a month ago)
image hosted on flickr

Working on the tiles (over a month ago)
image hosted on flickr

An Amazing Station for an Amazing City

[Andrew_za]

As you can see, its still under construction

[Andrew_za]

IS this the "official" city to CTIA railway link thread?
anyway, construction will only begin( if agreed) once the Gautrain phase 1 is complete, so around 2011/2012 as stated

[Mo Rush]

No, its the official cape town rail developments thread in the world forums. Not limited to the proposed airport link.

[Andrew_za]

oh, I only realised i was in the World forums thread now....I subscribed to this thread a few months back

[Mo Rush]

image hosted on flickr