Shosholoza Meyl faces uncertain future

The Shosholozo Meyl long-distance passenger train service is not currently operating. Archive photo: Sandiso Phaliso

PRASA says it plans to restore a “limited service” on four long-distance passenger routes next year. But recent attempts to restore these services have failed because of ageing locomotives. The National Treasury appears to be phasing out PRASA’s funding for repairing or buying new locomotives.

A long-haul service would provide an affordable alternative to flights and buses.

The Shosholoza Meyl service, which operated four routes – between Johannesburg and Durban, Cape Town, East London and Musina via Polokwane – was suspended in 2020 after a fatal collision with a goods train.

Limited operations resumed on the East London and Musina routes in 2022. The Durban and Cape Town routes resumed in December 2023. But passengers experienced cancellations and hours of delays. Three of the four routes were again suspended in October 2024, because the locomotives were “old, unreliable, and repeatedly breaking down”, according to PRASA.

GroundUp reported on a trip between Johannesburg and Durban in March last year. The train broke down several times. The service has since been suspended.

PRASA’s current fleet of ageing diesel locomotives has presented “reliability challenges” resulting in “limited locomotive capacity”, said spokesperson Andiswa Makanda. But, she said, routes between Johannesburg and Queenstown (Komani), Durban, Musina and Cape Town will resume in 2027.

It is unclear where PRASA will find the money for locomotives.

According to the budget tabled in Parliament in February, most of PRASA’s funds will go towards restoring signalling infrastructure for Metrorail, which operates commuter rail services in several metros.

The budget for purchasing new locomotives will halve over three years. Spending on new locomotives peaked at R12-billion in 2025/26 and will drop to R6-billion in 2027/28. Spending to refurbish existing mainline train coaches will be reduced entirely from R200-million last year.

Makanda said the agency is exploring “a range of options to address locomotive capacity constraints”, including leasing locomotives. “Details regarding the type, quantity, and timelines” are yet to be finalised, she said.

The national department of transport did not respond to questions.

Speaking on Radio 702 on Friday morning, transport minister Barbara Creecy said she was “concerned” about how PRASA has dealt with procurement in the past. She said there were “ongoing legacy issues” plaguing the agency, pointing to allegations of irregularities in its administration of the 2022 General Overhaul Programme, aimed at maintaining and refurbishing existing PRASA trains.

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