Rail transport in South Africa Information & Rail transport in South Africa Links at HealthHaven.com

A Metrorail train pulling out of Kalk Bay station in Cape Town

Rail transport in South Africa is arguably the most important piece of the country's transportation infrastructure.^[who?] All major cities are connected by rail, and South Africa's railway system is the most highly developed in Africa.^[1] The South African rail industry is publicly owned.

[edit] History

The first track for steam-powered locomotives was a line of about 2 miles (3.2 km) linking the Town of Durban with harbour point, opened on the 26th June 1860. Cape Town had already started building a 45 miles (72 km) line linking Cape Town to Wellington in 1859 but was hampered by delays and could only open the first section of the line to the Eerste River on the 13th of February 1862. Rail in other provinces started later, but a national "link-up" was established in 1898, creating a national transportation network.^[2] This national network was largely completed by 1910.^[1] And while rail lines were also extending outside of South Africa, as far north as present-day Zambia,^[3] the vision of Cecil John Rhodes, to have a rail system that would run "from Cape Town to Cairo", would never materialize.

Upon the merger of four provinces to establish the modern state of South Africa in 1910, the rail lines across the country were also merged. South African Railways and Harbours (SAR & H) was the government agency responsible for, amongst other things, the country's rail system. During the 1980s, the transportation industry was reorganized. Instead of being a direct government agency, it was modeled along business lines into a government-owned corporation called Transnet. Transnet Freight Rail (until recently known as Spoornet) is the division of Transnet that runs the rail system.^[4] Though there are no plans to end government-ownership of the national rail network, some small portions of the rail system have recently been privatized.^[5]

[edit] Network

Transnet (and previously Spoornet and its predecessor) became famous for its luxury rail lines, most notably the Blue Train, which runs from Cape Town to Johannesburg. The Blue Line has frequently been named the best luxury train line in the world, and the 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) run is a popular tourist attraction for South Africa.^[5]

However, with the increasing coverage provided by the nation's highway system, long distance passenger travel has declined in South Africa. While many commuters still use rail for their daily commute, nationally, only half of the nation's 20,000 kilometres (12,000 mi) of track is being fully utilized, and some 35% of the nation's track carries no activity or very low activity.^[1] Accordingly, Transnet is moving towards an emphasis on freight, rather than passengers, to keep the rail system profitable.

For a look at the South African transportation network, including the rails, view this map from the United Nations.

[edit] Maps

UNHCR map

[edit] Specifications

Nearly all railways in South Africa use a 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge track^[6]^[7]^[8]. This was selected in the 19th century to reduce the cost of building track across and through the mountains found in several parts of the country .^[5] Initially, a rapid speed commuter line called Gautrain will use standard gauge. Ultimately, the hope is that the conversion to standard gauge will also enhance rail's potential as a freight carrier.

South African trains connect through the AAR coupler, developed in the United States at the end of the 19th century. Remarkably, though South Africa has long been ahead of Europe in coupling systems, it has lagged behind most of the world in its braking system; most trains in South Africa continue to use vacuum braking. However, the conversion to air brakes has finally commenced.

Between 50% to 80% of the rail lines in South Africa are electrified.^[5] Different voltages are used for different types of trains. Most electrified trains run 3000 V DC (overhead); this is used primarily for commuter lines, and has been in use since the 1920s. During the 1980s, higher voltages (25 kV AC and —much less frequently— 50 kV AC (both overhead) have been used for heavy duty lines, primarily in the transport of iron ore.