• The Shosholoza Meyl's trip to Durban has already been booked to half-full capacity as South Africans are gearing up for its maiden voyage
• The trip will be on Friday, 8 December, and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa revealed that the journey will take 18 hours to complete
• South Africans are ecstatic that the service has returned and gave Prasa a few tips on how to improve it
• Prasa's spokesperson, Andiswa Makhanda, told Briefly News that the train is safe

Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News's current affairs journalist, offered coverage of current affairs and societal issues during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

Shosholoza Meyl has not yet embarked on its maiden trip since its revival but it is already at half-full capacity for the first trip. Shosholoza Meyl made a return after being cancelled two years ago. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa said this will be an experience for citizens.

Shosholoza Meyl Durban trip half-full

According to SABC News, Shosholoza Meyl travels from Johannesburg to Cape Town and Durban. It takes between 30 and 34 hours to travel to Cape Town and just over 18 hours to travel to Durban.

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Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makhanda pointed out that the time it takes includes stopovers in different towns and travelling at the approved speed. She also revealed that the trip to Durban is already at 50% capacity.

Makhanda speaks to Briefly News

Makhanda spoke to Briefly News about including other routes and security issues.

"We are restoring the services that were suspended in 2021. The only difference is now people can book for car transportation on the JHB to Durban service. In 2022, we restored the JHB to Musina and the JHB to Queenstown Lines. As we increase the availability of the fleet, locomotives and infrastructure, we will restore some of the other routes. We have increased security inside our trains, stations and platforms. Extra measures have been put in place to ensure the safety and security of our passengers," she said.

SA give Prasa tips

South Africans on Facebook are excited that the trains will give people the chance to travel affordably after Prasa revived the Shosholoza Meyl.

Mapudi Eric Morakiwa-Machacha said:

“People are willing to use public transportation if it’s affordable, safe, reliable and convenient. Even Intercity public transport would draw masses if it had these qualities.”

Bongani Mgubela was happy.

“That’s good news for us who love a journey by train.”

Liberty Nhlapo gave tips.

“They must add more trains to deal with monopolistic long-distance taxi industries. Already their prices are triple because it’s the festive season. Even buses are now using demand to determine their prices.”

Max Beauchamp Kemp added:

“Make sure there’s security on the trains because these taxi people will attack the train at various intersections.”

Modise Samuel remarked:

“If they can maintain a no-nonsense safety and security approach for everybody, then I am happy.”

Waheed Amodjee asked:

“The taxi industry tasted their tax-free millions while the trains were out of action. What will Prasa do to ensure no one sabotages and destroys railway infrastructure?”

PSASA encourages SA to travel by train in December

Earlier, Briefly News reported that Prasa encouraged people to travel by train in December after they announced the return of the Shosholoza Meyl.

Prasa announced that long-distance railway travel has returned after two years of being out of action due to network and infrastructure issues. South Africans had questions about safety and were afraid that travellers might be victims of crime.