Mabopane:Gauteng The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is boosting passenger rail services in Gauteng after completing significant infrastructure projects. This includes 865 kilometres of overhead electrical equipment, the recovery of 51 substations, and the rehabilitation of 187 kilometres of track, which has led to the creation of 4,619 jobs in the province.
According to South African Government News Agency, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy recently highlighted these developments during a visit to the Mabopane rail line as part of October Transport Month. This year's theme is 'Building a safe, sustainable, reliable and affordable transport system.'
The Pretoria, Mabopane, and De Wildt corridor has seen approximately R801.6 million invested in overhead electrical equipment, substations, signaling, and telecommunications. Efforts included refurbishing 14 substations and rebuilding several facilities that suffered extensive vandalism. Creecy noted that improved traction transformer capacity and upgraded feeder wires have fortified the rail system's electrical foundation, making it less susceptible to theft due to modern installations using less copper.
To protect railway infrastructure, PRASA is implementing security measures such as 3.5-metre-high concrete walls, steel-mesh fencing, and high-security gates along the Mabopane corridor. This initiative, which includes surveillance and emergency response measures, spans about 58 kilometres and has a combined contract value of R1.04 billion. It has provided employment for 284 community members and involved 22 small businesses.
The Mabopane-Pretoria service has expanded significantly, from 613 train trips in 2020/21 to 11,144 trips by 2025/26. The current service plan includes 81 daily trips, and passenger trips have increased from approximately 5.2 million in 2024/25 to about 7.1 million in 2025/26. Creecy emphasized the importance of reliability, with punctuality rates of about 97.5% on the Mabopane to Pretoria service and customer satisfaction reaching 77%.
The Minister called for community cooperation to safeguard public infrastructure and report theft and vandalism, stressing that such actions disrupt services and waste public funds.
