Metrorail Eastern Cape

Last updated
Metrorail Eastern Cape Region
Metrorail.png
Overview
Owner PRASA
Transit type Commuter rail
Number of lines2
Website www.metrorail.co.za
Operation
Operator(s) Metrorail
Technical
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

Metrorail Eastern Cape is the name given to the commuter rail services operated by Metrorail, a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. There are two lines, one connecting Port Elizabeth, Despatch and Uitenhage, and the other connecting East London, Mdantsane and Berlin. [1]

Unlike the other Metrorail regions, which use electric multiple units, the Eastern Cape services are provided by sets of ten coaches pulled by diesel locomotives. [2]

Lines

The Uitenhage CBD Line (also known as Port Elizabeth Line) starts at Port Elizabeth railway station in central Port Elizabeth, and runs northwards along the main Port Elizabeth Bloemfontein line as far as Swartkops, where it branches west through Despatch to Uitenhage. PRASA is planning to construct a branch serving Motherwell and the Coega Industrial Development Zone. [3]

The Berlin Line (also known as East London Line) starts at East London railway station and runs along the main East LondonBloemfontein railway line through Mdantsane to end in Berlin.

Related Research Articles

East London, Eastern Cape Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa

East London is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of the Eastern Cape province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. As of 2011, East London had a population of over 267,000 with over 755,000 in the metropolitan area.

Uitenhage Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Uitenhage officially renamed Kariega is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port Elizabeth and the small town of Despatch, it forms the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality.

Port Elizabeth Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Port Elizabeth, officially renamed Gqeberha and colloquially often referred to as PE, is a major seaport city and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa's second-largest metropolitan district by area size. It is the sixth-most-populous city in South Africa and is the cultural, economic and financial centre of the Eastern Cape.

Mdantsane Township in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London and 37 km away from Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in the Eastern Cape after Ibhayi near Port Elizabeth and seventeenth largest in South Africa after Vosloorus near Boksburg, Gauteng.

Rail transport in South Africa

Rail transport in South Africa is an important element of the country's transport infrastructure. All major cities are connected by rail, and South Africa's railway system is the most highly developed in Africa. The South African rail industry is publicly owned.

Metrorail (South Africa)

Metrorail is an operator of commuter rail services in the major urban areas of South Africa. It is a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), a state-owned enterprise which is responsible for most passenger rail services in South Africa. The Metrorail system consists of 471 stations, 2,228 kilometres (1,384 mi) of track, and carries an average of 1.7 million passengers per weekday.

Transnet Freight Rail

Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people for decades from the first half of the 20th century and was widely referred to by the initials SAR&H. Customer complaints about serious problems with Transnet Freight Rail's service were reported in 2010. Its head office is in Inyanda House in Parktown, Johannesburg.

Cape Town railway station Main railway station of Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town railway station is the main railway station of the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It is located along Adderley and Strand Streets in the city's central business district.

Metrorail Western Cape Commuter rail system in the Greater Cape Town area

Metrorail Western Cape is a network of commuter and suburban rail services in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality and in the surrounding towns of Malmesbury, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Wellington in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Southern Line (Cape Town) Metrorail railway line in Cape Town, South Africa

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.

Avontuur Railway

The Avontuur Railway is a closed railway line between Port Elizabeth and the town of Avontuur in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. It is the longest 2 ft narrow gauge route in the world at a length of 285 kilometres (177 mi). "Avontuur" is the Afrikaans and Dutch word for "adventure".

Port Elizabeth railway station is a railway station, located in Gqeberha, South Africa.

Cape Government Railways

The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910.

Johannesburg Park station

Johannesburg Park Station is the central railway station in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, and the largest railway station in Africa. It is located between the Central Business District and Braamfontein, in the block bordered by Rissik, Wolmarans, Wanderers, and Noord Streets. Park Station lies on the main Witwatersrand railway line that runs East-West from Krugersdorp to Germiston. The first four stations to the east are Doornfontein, Ellis Park, Jeppe and George Goch Stations.

The Cape Flats Line is a commuter rail line in Cape Town, South Africa, operated by Metrorail Western Cape. It connects central Cape Town with the suburbs of Pinelands, Athlone, Lansdowne, Ottery and Retreat.

The Central Line is a commuter rail service in Cape Town, South Africa, operated by Metrorail Western Cape. Central Line services operate along two routes from central Cape Town to Langa, and then along three branches from Langa to various areas in the south-east of the city. The first branch runs to Mitchell's Plain, the second to Khayelitsha, and the third passes through Belhar to terminate in Bellville.

The Northern Line is a commuter rail service in South Africa that in the Cape Town metropolitan area and its surroundings and is operated by Metrorail Western Cape. Northern Line services operate from central Cape Town to Bellville, and then from Bellville along three different routes. The first route runs along the main Cape Town–De Aar railway line to Paarl and Wellington. The second route passes through Stellenbosch to terminate at Muldersvlei station on the main line, while the third also passes through Somerset West to terminate in Strand.

East London railway station

East London railway station is the central railway station in the city of East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the terminus for Shosholoza Meyl inter-city trains to Johannesburg and Cape Town, and of a Metrorail commuter service to Mdantsane and Berlin.

South African locomotive history

In South Africa, as elsewhere in the world, the railways played a huge part in development and growth on nearly all terrains in the country. Conversely, events in South Africa and its neighbours over the years had a huge influence on the development of railways.

Pretoria–Maputo railway

Pretoria–Maputo railway, also called Delagoa Bay railway, Iron railway and Eastern railway, is a railway that connects the city of Maputo, Mozambique, to the city of Pretoria, in South Africa. It is 567 km long, in 1067 mm gauge. The Mozambican section, between Maputo and Ressano Garcia, is managed by the state-owned Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM) company, and it is officially known in Mozambique as the Ressano Garcia Line; in turn, on the South African stretch, between the cities of Komatipoort and Pretoria, the administration is done by the company Transnet Freight Rail.

References

  1. "2010 Local passenger routes of South Africa: Eastern Cape (East London & Port Elizabeth)" (PDF). Metrorail. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  2. "2010 Operational Plan" (PowerPoint). Metrorail Eastern Cape. April 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2010.[ dead link ]
  3. "Metrorail to Coega". 20 September 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2010.