The Shosholoza Meyl has been beset with problems. My journey last week on the train from Johannesburg to Durban saw no improvement. The train broke down numerous times. The longest delay was eight hours.
After stopping for long periods between stations, perhaps 20 times, the last time, in Ladysmith, some commuters left the train in search of alternative transport. Those of us who opted to wait on the train were eventually taken by bus to Durban.
The Shosholoza Meyl is operated by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and is the country’s long distance rail service. Many people have fond memories of train trips as it was one of the most affordable ways to travel between cities.
The Meyl was suspended after a fatal collision with a goods train in February 2020. At the time it ran on four routes: Johannesburg to Durban, Johannesburg to Musina via Polokwane, Johannesburg to Cape Town, and Johannesburg to East London.
In 2022 limited operations resumed on two routes: Johannesburg to East London and Johannesburg to Musina.
The Johannesburg-Durban and Johannesburg-Cape Town routes resumed in December 2023. These trips were plagued by problems and hours of delays. And then in October last year, PRASA announced that three of its four long-distance routes had been indefinitely suspended due to the locomotives being “old, unreliable and repeatedly breaking down”.
Now, only two routes are operational: Johannesburg-Durban and Johannesburg-East London. But only one locomotive operates on both routes.
I decided to take the Johannesburg to Durban train to document my experience.
I was sceptical about taking the train ride as it was scheduled to be a 26-hour journey and I was booked in economy, meaning I would be seated the whole ride. The train departed on 27 February at 6pm from Johannesburg Park Station and was scheduled to arrive the following night at 8:30pm in Durban. It was the first trip this year.
Booking it was chaotic. GroundUp had to communicate with a PRASA employee over WhatsApp to make the booking. We paid by EFT. There appears to be no working website for reservations and payment.
In my coach there were about 30 empty and 12 occupied seats. It was clean. Passengers who traveled in economy paid R290 and those in first class paid R520.
We stopped at the Germiston station for commuters to board.
A bus ticket from Johannesburg to Durban, an eight to nine hour ride, ranges from R290 to R740. A taxi, a six to seven hour drive, can cost up to R800. Airfares start at about R1,400. While the train is cheap, it is by far the slowest way to make the trip.
The journey was uncomfortable. Long waits at all the stops with the power off made the coach cold. But I felt safe during the trip, because there were six police officers on board (that I could see) and numerous PRASA security guards.
The Shosholoza Meyl has fallen far from what it used to be. According to the Department of Transport in 2004/5, the Meyl operated on 15 routes with a total of 6,500 train trips that year. The routes connected cities like Cape Town, East London, Durban, Pretoria, and even Maputo in Mozambique. The department estimated that about three million passengers travelled on the Meyl that year.
Less than a decade later, the number of passengers had more than halved. PRASA’s 2012/13 annual report said it had dropped to 1.26-million.
There were many empty seats on the train.
Off the tracks
I doubt any of the commuters on the trip would try the Shosholoza Meyl again, judging by their frustration levels during the journey. I wouldn’t travel again on these trains in their current state either.
When the train broke down at 1am for eight hours, some commuters panicked and decided to call friends and family to collect them between Laing’s Nek and Charlestown in KwaZulu-Natal. There was little communication from staff about what was going on. At some point there were heated verbal exchanges between the commuters and PRASA employees.
A commuter, Siphesihle Manzini, who was travelling with her 18-month-old baby and her partner, told me she started panicking about an hour after the train stopped outside Laing’s Nek. She was afraid she would be late for an appointment the next day.
She said the train manager told the commuters there was a power failure due to cable theft and it would only be sorted out much later.
“The Shosholoza is much cheaper than other modes of transport so I decided to use it, but as usual it has its challenges,” said Manzini.
“It is totally unacceptable that we have to be stuck in the middle of nowhere yet we have paid. There were no announcements of what the problem was and we had to ask forcefully to get the answers. This is nonsense,” said Manzini.
At about 2pm, one bus arrived to take us on the last leg of the trip. Commuters shuffled off the train and grabbed their luggage to pack into the bus. People were relieved. The bus arrived in Durban at 6pm. Weirdly this was a couple of hours ahead of schedule of the train which was obviously given far more time to reach Durban than it should take.
Another passenger, Zubenathu Ngondi, also told GroundUp this was the last time he will board Shosholoza Meyl.
“It is obvious PRASA was not prepared for this journey,” said Ngondi. “It is cheap but not reliable. PRASA is failing its customers.”
PRASA’s response
PRASA spokesperson Andiswa Makanda told GroundUp the Shosholoza Meyl service to Durban “was affected by cable theft” near Newcastle.
“This was followed by a locomotive failure at Ladysmith and the trip was completed by bus that had been dispatched as a contingency measure,” said Makanda.
“Regrettably, cable theft is an ongoing and persistent issue that impacts our operations as well as those of other passenger and freight train operators,” said Makanda. She said both lines were affected.
A PRASA technician inspects the line during the long eight-hour wait at Laing’s Nek.
Asked why PRASA did not inspect the line before the trip from Johannesburg to Durban resumed, Makanda said, “Inspections are conducted regularly, but given the unpredictable nature of cable theft, it does mean that unexpected service disruptions can still occur.”
“Our teams were satisfied that the line was suitable for the service prior to undertaking the trip,” she said.
PRASA told GroundUp that the long-distance trains services are affected by a “shortage of reliable locomotives” and that the company is working on a long-term plan “to secure reliable locomotives for the sustainability of the service”.
10 Comments
Travel by air – Flysafair and Lift offer fares from R380 or R450 average. Not R1400 as stated in the article
Without luggage
Michelle
I beg to differ as these prices are not always available when you want to fly on short notice. Only when there are specials
Use a diesel engine
Indeed! A hybrid consist of both diesel and electric locomotives will address stoppage due to the cable theft. Additional (redundant) locos will provide backup tractive effort in case of loco failure (solves reliability). Shorter times (if possible) during stops will reduce trip time. I believe that if the YQ is issued after careful route planning, the trip should take 12 – 15hrs max (assuming the distance from JBG-DBN = 600km and the set moves @50 or @40km/h).
I was also on the train that day, it was horrible. We even booked the train ride back and the train didn’t even drive back, they took us by bus the whole way back to Johannesburg and they are not going to refund people. It was my first time on a train and i never want to drive with PRASA again, everything falls on deaf ears. Very disappointed, they don’t deserve the hard working peoples money of South Africa!
This is not the first time this has happened on the train to Durban. In December 2023 I had a similar experience on Shosholoza Mail. I boarded at Germiston on a train that was supposed to reach my destination, Pietermaritzburg, at 05:20 the following morning (Saturday). I was attending a sister-in-law’s funeral on the Saturday. Due to the several stops and starts, the train eventually reached Pmb station at 17:30 on Saturday, well after the funeral. I vowed never to use the train service again. Ever
Seems like nothing had improved for years now. Same old same old. Very sad for affordable travel for those will limited means.
I had abnomal luggage which I had booked in the train from Johannesburg to Durban on the same train. I only received my luggage on Sunday at 15:45 . The train left Johannesburg on the 27th of February and only arrived Durban on the 2nd of March. My luggage was wet and partially damaged.
Even after arriving I had to wait a good two hours 😩 because the goods lift was not working and PRASA employees were stuck in the lift.
I was however thrilled by the service of Mr Mtshali a PRASA employee who took it upon himself to assist me in getting my heavy luggage to the loading area.
Although there were issues, I still think I will use their services again as I have used them before and had no issues.
I must also state that from my side the staff at the luggage area were friendly and helpful despite the horrible delays and damage into my Parcells.
Indeed PRASA remain far cheaper than other modes of transportations but the service for this trip was really poor .
For the sake of all South Africans, hand back the management and adminitration to the people that have initiated and built the services, as this administration has no idea how to do it, and how every sector fit in to make it all work!