PRASA Gauteng lines

Prasa have been threatened with cuts to their electricity and water by the City of Cape Town.

Photo: Siyasanga Mbambani

Transport Minister sets ambitious targets for PRASA

Fikile Mbalula has ordered PRASA to boost its on-time performance by more than 10 percent across the board in the next 100 days.

PRASA Gauteng lines

Prasa have been threatened with cuts to their electricity and water by the City of Cape Town.

Photo: Siyasanga Mbambani

A ministerial war room will drive a plan to dramatically improve the on-time performance of the Passenger Rail Agency South Africa (PRASA) services in South Africa within the next 100 days, according to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.

PRASA’s targets for the next 100 days

“Specific targets that must be realised in the next hundred days include improving on-time performance of Metrorail from 73.3 percent to 85 percent,” Mbalula told members of Parliament (MPs) while delivering his department’s budget vote in Parliament.

“In respect of Shosholoza Meyl [to] improve on-time arrivals from 13 percent to above 50 percent.”

Shosholoza Meyl is the division of the PRASA which operates long-distance passenger services in the country.

Other targets include increasing the number of Metrorail train sets available across the country from the current average of 200 to 291.

Mbalula experiences Cape Town’s trains

The announcement comes in the wake of a trip Mbalula took to Cape Town in which he attempted to take a train ride to Nyanga during rush hour.

The journey went about as well as anyone who has used the Cape’s rail service in recent years would’ve expected.

His initial train was delayed before he was forced to take a bus to complete the trip due to delays caused by a passenger incident further down the line.

“I’ve concluded my interaction with our commuters on the Cape Town Central Line where I shared our plans to fix rail in the country,” he posted to Twitter.

“The issue of trains is emotional for our people.”

– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Devereaux Morkel, additional reporting by Nick Krige