The Central Line is a commuter rail service in Cape Town, South Africa, operated by Metrorail Western Cape. Central Line services operate along two routes from central Cape Town to Langa, and then along three branches from Langa to various areas in the south-east of the city. The first branch runs to Mitchell's Plain, the second to Khayelitsha, and the third passes through Belhar to terminate in Bellville.[1]
Central Line trains depart from Cape Town station on one of two routes. The first route runs along the original Cape Town–Bellville main line through Salt River to Maitland, and then branches south to pass around the western and southern edge of Pinelands to . The other route runs along the relief main line past and then branches south through Kensington to Mutual station; from Mutual it runs along the eastern edge of Pinelands to Langa.[2]
From Langa station all trains pass through ; some continue east through Bishop Lavis and Belhar, passing the University of the Western Cape before turning north and then west to terminate at Bellville. Other trains branch south after Bonteheuwel, passing Manenberg and Gugulethu to . From Philippi, one branch passes south through Mitchell's Plain to terminate at , while the other passes south-east through Khayelitsha to terminate at .[2] This line was recently extended from to two new stations serving eastern areas of Khayelitsha.[3]
Most trains to Mitchell's Plain use the Salt River route from Cape Town to Langa, while most trains to Bellville or Khayelitsha use the Mutual route, but there are some exceptions.[1]
Station listing[]
The Central Line serves the following stations:[1]
The line is made up of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) track, electrified with 3,000 V DC overhead catenary; all parts of the line are at least double track. Services are operated mostly by electric multiple units of Class 5M2 and (on the Khayelitsha line) .
