PRASA rail recovery: From 10 million trips to 101 million, and new buses on the road

The rail recovery at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is picking up speed.

A few years ago, South Africa’s commuter trains had almost ground to a halt.

Now, passenger numbers have increased tenfold.

And the rail agency is adding new buses to its long-distance network too.

Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy is visiting PRASA Pretoria Station on Thursday, 15 October.

During the visit, she will inspect PRASA’s rail rebuilding work and launch a new long-distance bus fleet.

WHAT IS PRASA RECOVERING FROM?

PRASA’s commuter rail services collapsed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time, the network was hit hard by vandalism and theft.

In 2023, then-PRASA chief executive officer Zolani Matthews said the agency faced unprecedented levels of vandalism and sabotage.

As a result, passenger numbers fell sharply.

By the 2020-2021 financial year, passenger trips had dropped to just 10 million.

THE PRASA RAIL RECOVERY IN NUMBERS

Since then, PRASA has slowly won passengers back.

At the launch of Transport Month on 1 October, Creecy said passenger trips had grown to an audited 101 million by the end of the 2025-2026 financial year.

That’s a tenfold increase.

“Prasa is working to increase the numbers and frequency of trains on its network as passenger numbers continue to rise following the recovery of most of its priority rail corridors,” she said.

HOW PRASA IS REBUILDING RAIL

According to the Department of Transport, PRASA’s rebuilding efforts have focused on four areas:

• Restoring railway infrastructure.
• Improving safety.
• Upgrading signalling systems.
• Making commuter services more reliable.

On the Mabopane Corridor, which links Pretoria with Mabopane, north-west of the city, the work includes signalling upgrades, infrastructure improvements and initiatives to increase train frequency and improve operational safety.

PRASA’s blue and white trains, known as Isitimela Sabantu, now run on most of South Africa’s rail network.

The department says they form part of efforts to provide a more reliable and affordable public transport service.

WHAT’S HAPPENING DURING CREECY’S VISIT?

The visit forms part of October Transport Month, under the theme “Building a safe, sustainable, reliable and affordable transport system”.

During the visit, Creecy will:

• Visit PRASA’s Centralised Train Control Centre (CTC).
• Inspect rail rebuilding work on the Mabopane Corridor.
• Launch a new bus fleet for PRASA’s Long-Distance Passenger Services.

“Not only have we witnessed the rebuilding of rail within PRASA, but we have also seen significant progress within their Long-Distance Passenger Services,” Creecy said.

TRAINS EVERY FIVE MINUTES?

PRASA has big plans for the future.

Group CEO Hishaam Emeran said trains could eventually run every five minutes during peak periods.

However, that depends on upgrading the rail network’s signalling system.

Emeran described it as a multibillion-rand project.

PRASA is still appointing service providers, and the rollout could take about two years once contracts are awarded.

DO YOU USE PRASA’S TRAINS, AND HAVE YOU NOTICED AN IMPROVEMENT?