Train services between Naledi and Johannesburg resumed on Thursday, proof that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has reached another critical milestone in its project to rehabilitate the passenger rail network and recover services.
Addressing the launch of the Naledi line commuter rail service at Park Station in the morning, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the completion of the rebuilding and resumption of service on the Naledi line accounts for the 13th corridor recovered in 2022.
“This means that not only have we achieved the target of rehabilitating 10 priority corridors in 2022, but we have also exceeded this target,” Mbalula said.
The minister further said the recovery of the Naledi line is a major achievement, considering the role of commuter rail in bridging the gap between the townships and centres of economic activity.
“Commuter rail plays an important role in unwinding apartheid spatial planning that located the majority of our people away from their workplaces. The Naledi to Johannesburg corridor covers a distance of 70km, with 15 stations,” he said.
He added that Prasa is in the process of walling some of the passenger rail corridors to prevent ease of access to the rail network and to protect the new trains from being vandalised.
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