By Daanyaal Matthews
The City of Cape Town is set to see the reopening of the rail corridor connecting the communities of Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, and Bellville. The line had been shut down for four years due to infrastructure damage caused by cable theft and vandalism. Its reopening follows extensive repair work on the station, substation, and overhead traction electrification system.
Speaking on VOC’s Sunday Live, PRASA Regional Manager Raymond Maseko described the reopening as a vital development for the City of Cape Town, given the spatial inequalities in the Mother City.
Maseko attributed the success of the reopening to meaningful community engagement, which he emphasised was essential to identifying key issues and finding appropriate solutions.
“Entry into any communication is first for us to discuss with community leadership through subcouncils, who then led community engagements with us. Councillors would come and organize with us to meet with the community where the rail is actually situated along. That was very critical for us because that’s where you start, and then you understand the challenges,” stated Maseko.
He added that while the Central Line would be reopened, further work remains at three stations — Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain, and Kapteinsklip — with 90% of the work already completed and a target date of early June.
“Those stations are about 90% complete, but now we are recovering just the overhead. We call it overhead traction equipment; that’s our term for the wires that bring electricity to the train. That is the last portion we are doing. We should be completed with that portion in the second week of June, and then we will start regulatory tests that are required. So by the end of June, Kapteinsklip will definitely have a train,” added Maseko.
Listen to the full interview here:
