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Gallo Images / Beeld / Alet Pretorius
- Prasa is restoring train services on the central line between Nyanga and Philippi and hope to have trains back and running
- This follows successful community engagements and relocations of illegal occupants from the line.
- The next step recovery to Mitchells Plain.
Recovery of the central line is well underway, say Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), with the intention of having trains back up an running between Nyanga and Philippi by the end of May.
At a community engagement in Mitchells Plain on Friday 10 May, Prasa officials advised that through extensive engagements with the Philippi community, the relocation of hundreds of illegal occupants from the central line allows them to work on restoring this service, with the next step being recovery to Mitchells Plain.
This area was worst affected by encroachment, with Prasa negotiation securing clearing of 10m from the line. Prasa only requires 8m to run their operations. Phase 1 in their recovery plan was the relocation of persons in Langa.
READ: Joy reigns as trains run in Nyanga once again
They had since negotiated with occupiers to give back one line. In Philippi, they have relocated persons to another plot of Prasa property near Stock Road. A total of 884 dwellers have been moved from ward 34 in Philippi to the stock road section in ward 88 in Philippi.
This is a temporary relocation, as this parcel of land is not zoned for human settlements. An application has been made to have this rezoned. There are still occupiers in Langa to be moved to a proposed plot of land located in the Philipi Wedge in ward 43.
The Stock Road relocation will be for a period of two years, while Prasa attempts to secure land for a permanent relocation for all illegal occupiers.
Prasa says almost all of the illegal occupiers along the central train line are from the Eastern Cape.
No land has been secured to date, despite confusion and reports around the ward 43 Wedge in Philippi or Macassar.
