Mokgadi Mogy Mashako
LIMPOPO resident Lambertina Mochemi remembers those days and nights, many years ago when she travelled frequently by train between Johannesburg and Pietersburg [now Polokwane].
Mochemi of Senwabarwana north west of Polokwane was a goods and clothing merchant. Taking the taxi for the long trip back then was no option. The taxi fare was way beyond her means.
So the train was the most affordable and convenient mode of transport for her and other traders buying stock in far away Johannesburg to resell in the villages.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) recently reintroduced the Shosholoza Meyl train service on the Gauteng to Makhado route.
PRASA which owns 2 280 kilometers of South Africa’s rail network and uses 22 000 kilometres of rail track, reintroduced the route between Johannesburg and Makhado, via Polokwane at the beginning of September.
The Limpopo route was paused due to infrastructure theft and vandalism that was even more rampant during the Covid-19 lockdowns, which resulted in frozen services for about two and a half years.
“I have long retired but I will forever remember how much I would save by not having a taxi operator ask me to pay for the entire row of seats due to my large bags of stock,” reminisced Mochemi.
“The train was convenient because it made it possible to leave overnight, and when we arrived there early in the morning we could take our time going through all the stock to ensure that we were buying quality,” she said.
“The one trip I will never forget is when I met entrepreneurs from Botswana on the train to Johannesburg. Usually we would travel with people from Venda, Botlokwa and Giyani. But that day I learnt that even immigrants used the train to push their business,” said Mochemi.
PRASA’s Leonard Potgieter said the company is excited to reintroduce the Limpopo route.
“We have one Tourist Class coach accommodating maximum 24 passengers and 5 Economy Class coaches accommodating maximum 320 passengers. In total the train can take 344 passengers but demand will guide us and it is possible to increase coaches,” said Potgieter.
Shosholoza Meyl is currently providing month-end services where the train departs every last Friday of the month from Johannesburg and returns on Sunday.
PRASA said in June that a R 7.5 billion general-overhaul contract that will allow for the “heavy maintenance and repairs of our train-sets and clear the backlog”.
“Many of our train sets are out of commission due to the lifespan of our coaches and the vandalism of our coaches, making our trains hazardous and unsafe for our commuters,” read the statement.
Approximately 400 coaches are set to undergo maintenance for every year for the next five years.
“The lifespan of a coach is about 40 years, however, the majority of our fleet is generally over 50 years old. In the asset life cycle of trains, individual coaches need to undergo general maintenance every 9 to 10 years.”
It is believed that the contract has the prospects of creating over 2000 jobs.
In efforts to protect both the commuters and infrastructure, PRASA has rolled out 3100 boots on the ground to reinforce the contracted security in order to restore stability to its services.
Additionally the agency is replacing the copper used in cables with other metals that are not commercially viable for cable thieves. A budget of R1.7-billion is earmarked for the rebuilding and repairing the 115 train stations allocated for revitalization.
Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula recently mentioned that 10 rail corridors would be recovered in September and October 2022.
Potgieter said the Limpopo route, which costs R160 for a sitter ticket and R270 for a sleeper coach, currently does not offer any tourism packages but Main Line Passenger (MLP) services will be running special event trains.
The MLP had a successful trip transporting athletes to the 95th edition of the Comrades Marathon in Durban in August.
PRASA has a total of six routes, however currently only the Johannesburg – East London (return) service and now the Johannesburg – Makhado (return) are operational. The Johannesburg – Durban (return) service is set to resume soon.
“As we transition to the new electrical trains manufactured at the Gibela manufacturing plant, the current fleet needs to be maintained until new electrical motor units are finally acquired and fully incorporated into service by estimated 2033,” Potgieter said. news@mukurukuru.co.za
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