The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has been granted a commercial licence to run the People’s Train (new blue electric trains) on the Southern Line in Cape Town.

“In Gauteng, the Railway Regulator (RSR) has granted PRASA a commercial licence to operate a commercial service with the new trains on the Saulsville line.

“The decision by the RSR comes as PRASA ramps up efforts to bring more rail corridors back to operation across the country,” PRASA said on Thursday.

The Metrorail Western Cape has been running the off-peak operations of the new electric trains on the Southern Line since November last year, while running the yellow grey trains during peak time.

The regulator’s decision means that the new trains can now run on both peak and off-peak hours.

The People’s Train is part of PRASA’s modernisation programme that will bring state-of-the-art rail service to South Africans.

“It is part of our brand promise to deliver modern, faster, reliable, and cost-efficient train services. PRASA is committed to the safety of employees, passengers and communities. PRASA also endeavours to protect its assets,” PRASA said.

The commercial licences are key milestones in PRASA’s work to recover the corridors that were left decimated across the country due to theft, vandalism and the COVID-19.

“The road to recovery is a painful one, but all the work put in is starting to bear fruit.

“Some of the successes are very encouraging,” acting PRASA Group CEO, David Mphelo, said.

PRASA has taken a phased-in corridor approach in the recovery of the services and will communicate details of the recovery plan for the 2022/23 financial year in due course.

Source: South African Government News Agency