ions. He says: “We were able to recover the line from Cape Town to Langa, and we asked the community to work with us, and indeed we found a solution for that particular problem. “There was nothing we could do, there was no passing. It was not adjacent to the track, it was on top of the track, but as they say, when there is a will, there is a way.” Western Cape provincial Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku said that beyond improving mobility, the restoration of rail is also a key factor in the reduction of road congestion, which directly impacts economic growth. He says: “This railway line was rebuilt through the hands and hearts of our own community. Now, it must be protected by those same hands and honored by those same hearts.”17:T642,

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) announced that the Central Line will be operational from May.

Prasa reported a successful trial of train trips - from Cape Town via Bonteheuwel to Mitchells Plain, Chris Hani in Khayelitsha and Bellville - in a significant step in the restoration of the public transport system.

The Cape Town to Chris Hani rail was last fully functional in November 2019 before services were suspended due to vandalism, cable theft and shacks on the railway track.

Metrorail Western Cape Manager Raymond Maseko said that they had about 37kms of the rail line to recover, and that work only started in earnest in July 2020 as they’ve also had to work through occupations.

He says: “We were able to recover the line from Cape Town to Langa, and we asked the community to work with us, and indeed we found a solution for that particular problem.

“There was nothing we could do, there was no passing. It was not adjacent to the track, it was on top of the track, but as they say, when there is a will, there is a way.”

Western Cape provincial Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku said that beyond improving mobility, the restoration of