Shosholoza Meyl train resumes ahead of festive season

Government has re-introduced the Shosholoza Meyl train, with its service resuming on Friday, 27 November, ahead of the festive season travel.

Passengers will now be able to travel from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban, Musina, Polokwane, East London, Port Elizabeth and Komatipoort.

With Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula and Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) chief executive officer Nosipho Damasane visiting Park Station in Johannesburg to check the state of readiness, the train service resumption cames after nine months of suspension of all activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Prasa, like the rest of the country, had to comply to the mandatory restrictions. This gave us an opportunity to tighten up on our Covid-19 protocols on board in order to ensure the safety of our passengers and staff,” Damasane said.

Travelling passengers would be required to wear face masks while temperatures would be checked prior to boarding with additional temperature checks conducted during the journey.

Passengers were also advised to pack their own travel provisions as kitchen service on the train remained suspended. However, they would be able to purchase blankets, which would be laundered after each journey.

The resumption of the Mainline Passenger Services which operates Shosholoza Meyl and Premier Classe after a break of 9 months.

This means that Shosholoza Meyl will be operating on all its regular routes during this festive season. pic.twitter.com/amF5lgpV8T

— Minister of Transport |Mr Fix (@MbalulaFikile) November 27, 2020

“We are eager to get back to providing the full service as we know it onboard, however, for safety reasons, we must work together with passengers to manage this pandemic.

“We have made emergency contingency plans through the provision of an on-board isolation coach with our staff continuing to monitor customers to ensure compliance.

“Our people are expecting to travel and reach their various destinations safely while ensuring that we comply to
Covid-19 protocols”, she said

Shosholoza Meyl travel routes departing:

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.