The last section of the Central Line, where services were halted due to infrastructure theft and damage or land occupation, will soon be up and running again. 

PRASA Western Cape confirmed that it has been running test trains on the Philippi-to-Kapteinsklip line this week, as part of the final phase of restoring the train route.  

Services on the Central Line were completely closed in October 2019, following widespread theft and vandalism, with land occupation during the Covid-19 lockdown having worsened the situation.  

Following extensive rehabilitation work, all the corridors have since been restored, with almost all of them operational. 

PRASA Western Cape says the current testing phase marks a significant milestone. 

“The test train will service Philippi, Lentegeur, Mitchell’s Plain and Kapteinsklip stations – key sections in the final phase of restoring full Central Line operations. This critical public transportation corridor serves thousands of commuters daily,” read a PRASA Western Cape statement.  

PRASA Western Cape said repair work included “track rehabilitation and readiness”, “signalling system repairs and testing” and “overhead traction equipment reinstatement and energisation”, among other critical infrastructure upgrades. 

The rail agency added that the test trains mark the final transition before the safety checks and certifications needed to reopen the line.  

“The only remaining work is conducting integrity tests and submitting them to the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) for final sign-off.” 

PRASA noted that the Philippi-Kapteinsklip line is expected to open for public use in January, ahead of the start of the school year on 14 January.  

Its full reopening is expected to provide major relief to hundreds of daily commuters. 

“This progress brings PRASA Western Cape closer to restoring the full Central Line, one of the region’s most important rail corridors,” read a PRASA Western Cape statement.