Different methods of transportation in South Africa include roads, railways, airports, water, and pipelines for petroleum oil. The majority of people in South Africa use informal minibus taxis as their main mode of transport. BRT has been implemented in some South African cities in an attempt to provide more formalised and safer public transport services. These systems have been widely criticised due to their large capital and operating costs. A "freeway" is different from most countries as certain things are forbidden which include certain motorcycles, no hand signals, and motor tricycles. South Africa has many major ports including Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth that allow ships and other boats to pass through, some carrying passengers and some carrying petroleum tankers.
Gautrain is an 80-kilometre (50-mile) higher-speed express commuter rail system in Gauteng, South Africa, which links Johannesburg, Pretoria, Kempton Park and O. R. Tambo International Airport. It takes 15 minutes to travel from Sandton to O. R. Tambo International Airport on the Gautrain and 35 minutes from Pretoria in Tshwane to Park Station in Johannesburg. The Gautrain has 10 stations. Buses, shuttles and midibus services are available to transport passengers to and from all stations excluding the O. R. Tambo International Airport Station.
The Bombardier Electrostar is a family of electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger trains manufactured by Bombardier Transportation at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England between 1999 and 2017. It has become the most common new EMU type in the United Kingdom since the privatisation of British Rail with a number of variants. Electrostar trains are most common on high-volume suburban commuter routes around London; and on mainline services from London south to Surrey and the south coast, east to Essex, and north to Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
The Blue Train travels an approximately 1,600-kilometre (990 mi) journey in South Africa between Pretoria and Cape Town. It is one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world. It boasts butler service, two lounge cars, an observation car, and carriages with gold-tinted picture windows, in soundproofed, fully carpeted compartments, each featuring its own en-suite. The service is promoted as a "magnificent moving five-star hotel" by its operators, who note that kings and presidents have travelled on it.
Rail transport in South Africa is an important element of the country's transport infrastructure. All major cities are connected by rail, and South Africa's railway system is the most highly developed in Africa. The South African rail industry is publicly owned.
Metrorail is an operator of commuter rail services in the major urban areas of South Africa. It is a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), a state-owned enterprise which is responsible for most passenger rail services in South Africa. The Metrorail system consists of 471 stations, 2,228 kilometres (1,384 mi) of track, and carries an average of 1.7 million passengers per weekday.
Shosholoza Meyl is a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) that operates long-distance (intercity) passenger rail services. It operates various train routes across South Africa, carrying approximately 4 million passengers annually. Before 2009, Shosholoza Meyl was a division of Spoornet, but it was transferred after the formation of PRASA.
Cape Town railway station is the main railway station of the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It is located along Adderley and Strand Streets in the city's central business district.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is a South African state-owned enterprise responsible for most passenger rail services in the country.
Bellville mainline railway station is a railway station in the town of Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. It is the second-biggest station in the Metrorail Western Cape railway network, after the Cape Town terminus. All trains on Metrorail's Northern Line pass through Bellville, and one branch of the Central Line also terminates there. It is also a stop for Shosholoza Meyl trains that terminate in Cape Town.
Port Elizabeth railway station is a railway station, located in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Johannesburg Park Station is the central railway station in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, and the largest railway station in Africa. It is located between the Central Business District and Braamfontein, in the block bordered by Rissik, Wolmarans, Wanderers, and Noord Streets. Park Station lies on the main Witwatersrand railway line that runs East-West from Krugersdorp to Germiston. The first four stations to the east are Doornfontein, Ellis Park, Jeppe and George Goch Stations.
Durban railway station is the central railway station in the city of Durban, South Africa, located between Umgeni Road and Masabalala Yengwa Avenue just to the north of the central business district. It is the terminus of Shosholoza Meyl long-distance services from Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the hub of a network of Metrorail commuter rail services that stretch as far as KwaDukuza (Stanger) to the north, Kelso to the south, and Cato Ridge inland.
Huguenot railway station is the main passenger railway station in the town of Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa. It is served by Metrorail commuter trains on the Northern Line. It is also the second stop out of Cape Town for Shosholoza Meyl inter-city trains originating or terminating there.
Wellington railway station is the railway station that serves the town of Wellington in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the terminus of the Metrorail Northern Line service from Cape Town Station, except for a single train daily in each direction as far as Worcester. Wellington is also a stop for Shosholoza Meyl inter-city trains that originate or terminate in Cape Town.
East London railway station is the central railway station in the city of East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the terminus for Shosholoza Meyl inter-city trains to Johannesburg and Cape Town, and of a Metrorail commuter service to Mdantsane and Berlin.
Kimberley railway station is the central railway station of the city of Kimberley, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Because Kimberley is the junction of the main Cape Town–Johannesburg main line with another line from Bloemfontein, it is served by several routes of the Shosholoza Meyl inter-city service. Kimberley railway station is also used by the luxury tourist-oriented Blue Train and the private train holiday company Rovos Rail.
Metrorail Gauteng is a network of commuter rail services in Gauteng province in South Africa, serving the Johannesburg and Pretoria metro areas. It is operated by Metrorail, a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).
The South African Railways Class 6E1, Series 4 of 1973 was an electric locomotive.
Pretoria–Maputo railway, also called Delagoa Bay railway, Iron railway and Eastern railway, is a railway that connects the city of Maputo, Mozambique, to the city of Pretoria, in South Africa. It is 567 km long, in 1067 mm gauge. The Mozambican section, between Maputo and Ressano Garcia, is managed by the state-owned Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM) company, and it is officially known in Mozambique as the Ressano Garcia Line; in turn, on the South African stretch, between the town of Komatipoort and city of Pretoria, the administration is done by the company Transnet Freight Rail.
