Pretoria | |||||
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Railway station | |||||
General information | |||||
Location | Scheiding Street, Pretoria | ||||
Coordinates | 25°45′29″S28°11′21″E / 25.75806°S 28.18917°E | ||||
Owned by | PRASA | ||||
Line(s) | Shosholoza Meyl: | ||||
Construction | |||||
Structure type | At-grade | ||||
History | |||||
Opened | 1892 | ||||
Rebuilt | 1910 | ||||
Electrified | yes | ||||
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Pretoria railway station is the central station in Pretoria, the executive capital of South Africa. It is located between Pretoria's central business district and Salvokop, in a 1910 building designed by Herbert Baker. It is the terminus of various Metrorail commuter rail services in the northern part of Gauteng, and a stop on Shosholoza Meyl inter-city services from Johannesburg to Polokwane and Nelspruit. Pretoria is also the northern terminus of the luxury Blue Train service from Cape Town. Platforms and tracks for the Gautrain rapid-rail service are adjacent to the main-line station.
The first railway station in Pretoria was built in 1892 by the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM) as the western terminus of its line to the harbour of Delagoa Bay (now Maputo). [1] In 1910, shortly before the creation of the Union of South Africa, the government of the Transvaal Colony decided to spend excess funds on constructing a new station for Pretoria, rather than surrendering the money to the new national government. The new station was the first public building designed by Sir Herbert Baker. [2]
On 19 February 2001, a signalling failure led to major delays to Metrorail services in Pretoria. Angered by the delays, some commuters set a fire in a waiting room which spread to the roof of the building, which caved in. Almost all of the roof was destroyed, although the structure itself was saved. [3] The restoration, which cost 18 million rand, started in June 2001 and finished in February 2002. [2]
Shosholoza Meyl inter-city services originating from Johannesburg pass through Pretoria en route to Musina via Polokwane and Komatipoort via Nelspruit. Metrorail commuter services operate from Pretoria west to Atteridgeville, north to Soshanguve and Ga-Rankuwa, east to Mamelodi, and south to Johannesburg Park Station. The Gautrain connects Pretoria station to Park Station, with another going east in Pretoria to Hatfield.
Preceding station | Shosholoza Meyl | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Germiston towards Johannesburg | Johannesburg–Komatipoort | Eerste Fabrieke towards Komatipoort | ||
Johannesburg–Musina | Pyramid towards Musina | |||
Preceding station | Gautrain | Following station | ||
Centurion towards Park Station | North–South Line | Hatfield Terminus | ||
Preceding station | Metrorail Gauteng | Following station | ||
Fonteine towards Johannesburg | Johannesburg–Pretoria | Terminus | ||
Terminus | Pretoria–Saulsville | Bosman Street towards Saulsville | ||
Pretoria–Mabopane/De Wildt | Bosman Street | |||
Pretoria–Pienaarspoort | Mears Street towards Pienaarspoort |
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Gautrain is an 80-kilometre (50-mile) higher-speed express commuter rail system in Gauteng, South Africa, which links Johannesburg, Pretoria, Kempton Park and O. R. Tambo International Airport. It takes 15 minutes to travel from Sandton to O. R. Tambo International Airport on the Gautrain and 35 minutes from Pretoria station to Park Station in Johannesburg. The Gautrain has 10 stations. Buses, shuttles and midibus services are available to transport passengers to and from all stations excluding the O. R. Tambo International Airport Station.
The Bombardier Electrostar is a family of electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger trains manufactured by Bombardier Transportation at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England between 1999 and 2017. It has become the most common new EMU type in the United Kingdom since the privatisation of British Rail with a number of variants. Electrostar trains are most common on high-volume suburban commuter routes around London; and on mainline services from London south to Surrey and the south coast, east to Essex, and north to Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
The Blue Train is a luxury train that travels an approximately 1,600-kilometre (990 mi) journey in South Africa, between Pretoria and Cape Town. It is one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world. It offers butler service, two lounge cars, an observation car, and carriages with gold-tinted picture windows, in soundproofed, fully carpeted compartments, each with its own en-suite bathroom. The service is promoted as a "magnificent moving five-star hotel" by its operators, who note that kings and presidents have travelled on it.
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Shosholoza Meyl is a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) that operates long-distance (intercity) passenger rail services. It operates various train routes across South Africa, carrying approximately 4 million passengers annually. Before 2009, Shosholoza Meyl was a division of Spoornet, but it was transferred after the formation of PRASA.
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Durban railway station is the central railway station in the city of Durban, South Africa, located between Umgeni Road and NMR Avenue / Masabalala Yengwa Avenue just to the north of the central business district. It is the terminus of Shosholoza Meyl long-distance services from Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the hub of a network of Metrorail commuter rail services that stretch as far as KwaDukuza (Stanger) to the north, Kelso to the south, and Cato Ridge inland.
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Kimberley railway station is the central railway station of the city of Kimberley, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Because Kimberley is the junction of the main Cape Town–Johannesburg main line with another line from Bloemfontein, it is served by several routes of the Shosholoza Meyl inter-city service. Kimberley railway station is also used by the luxury tourist-oriented Blue Train and the private train holiday company Rovos Rail.
Metrorail Gauteng is a network of commuter rail services in Gauteng province in South Africa, serving the Johannesburg and Pretoria metro areas. It is operated by Metrorail, a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).
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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 town of Komatipoort and city of Pretoria, the administration is done by the company Transnet Freight Rail.