Main Lines

Main Lines: Inter-provincial arterial lines

(Connecting the Eastern Cape with adjacent provinces)

Port Elizabeth– Cookhouse - Noupoort

(and beyond: to De Aar, Bloemfontein and Gauteng)

This is the main line route between Port Elizabeth and the interior, reaching the important junction of Noupoort, 417 rail kilometres inland. At this point it splits, with one line running a further 130 km westwards to De Aar on the Western Cape Mainline and Namibia route. The other line runs northwards to Bloemfontein and Johannesburg via the Free State mainline, entering that province at Norvalspont.

The line to Noupoort and De Aar has generally been referred to as the Cape Midlands Mainline. It was first opened from Port Elizabeth to Addo in 1875 and reached Cradock by 1881 and Noupoort by 1883. The link-up with De Aar was completed in 1884 and to Bloemfontein in 1890.

Traditionally, through traffic between Port Elizabeth and Gauteng used the Bloemfontein route. The distance from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg is 1 119 km. Traffic between Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg, can if required take the Noupoort – De Aar – Kimberley route but this alternative is 62 km longer than the route via Bloemfontein.

The section from Port Elizabeth to De Aar is electrified at 25kV AC and it is single track throughout - with the exception of the 11-km section between Port Elizabeth and Swartkops, junction of the line to George. Train operations are controlled by CTC (Centralised Traffic Control) throughout and the permissible wagon axle load is 20 tons – standard for all mainlines. The ruling gradient is 1 in 72 from Port Elizabeth to Alicedale, 1 in 80 beyond to Noupoort and 1 in 110 to De Aar, while it is 1 in 80 to Bloemfontein. The line was virtually all rebuilt between 1930 and 1960, doing away with the steep grades and sharp curves of the original line. Many of the crossing loops can accommodate long air-brake export manganese trains operated from the Northern Province and plans are being discussed to increase the capacity of the route.

Photo: Empty manganese train crossing Fish River at Ripon

Some 2,8-million tons of through traffic was routed over the line during the Spoornet 2005 – 2006 review period.

This included over 1,9-million tons of export manganese ore, about 262 000 tons of container traffic, 158 000 tons of maize and wheat, and over 100 000 tons of motor cars carried in the special Auto-train. Not all was long-haul through traffic. 98,819 tons consisted of limestone transported from Grassridge to New Brighton, a distance of just 26 kilometres.

When compared to the traffic levels prevailing during the 1970’s, rail levels have declined by over 50%. On average between 7 and 8 inland bound trains run each day, while about 9 run towards the coast. This includes export maize, manganese and motor vehicle trains. The present track occupation is between 26% and 35% of theoretical capacity, depending on the section of line. For this reason, traffic levels could be doubled without requiring infrastructural investment.

Photo: Container train from Port Elizabeth crossing Gariep River into the Free State.

East London – Burgersdorp – Springfontein

(and beyond to Bloemfontein and Gauteng)

This is generally described as the Cape Eastern Mainline. It runs 472 km inland from East London to Queenstown, Burgersdorp and Springfontein, where it connects with the Free State Mainline, running from Noupoort to Bloemfontein and Gauteng. The line was first opened from East London to Blaney in 1876. It reached King Williams Town the following year but the thrust northwards was from Blaney. Queenstown was reached in 1880, Burgersdorp in 1885 and Springfontein in 1892, forming a through route to Bloemfontein. Only 433 km of the line falls within the Eastern Cape.

Photo: Suburban passenger train passing Mdantsane

The line was considerably upgraded during the 1940’s and 1950’s, with many tunnels on the Amabele – Queenstown section. It was later electrified on the

25 kV AC system and portions of the line were equipped with the CTC signaling system, while the remaining portion was equipped with colour light signaling controlled by local Train Control Officer’s. The ruling gradient is 1 in 50 Compensated. Like the Port Elizabeth mainline, there is a 20 ton permissible wagon axle load.

As with the Cape Midlands Mainline, traffic on the East London line has dropped significantly during the past 20 years. During 2005 – 2006, about 1-million tons of traffic moved over the line, of which 75 000 was generated and about 780 000 received from other provinces. About 154 000 was intrastate traffic. Of the received traffic, 454 805 consisted of maize, of which about 391 000 was exported and the balance to local grain mills. 244,399 tons of cement was received from the Northern Cape at Queenstown for general distribution by road.

Photo: Loaded cement train south of Molteno

At the present time about three trains to the interior operate every day while 4 run towards the coast. This represents between 30% and 40% of present line capacity and traffic could double without putting strain on the infrastructure.

Photo: Mixed load train at Queenstown station. Wagons for handling bulk and bagged cement in foreground.

Swartkops (Port Elizabeth) – Klipplaat – Oudtshoorn

(and beyond to George and Worcester in the Western Cape)

This is part of the Garden Route line, first opened between Swartkops and Uitenhage in 1875 as the projected railway to Graaff Reinet which was reached in 1879. This line was later extended northwards to Middleburg and Rosmead on the Cape Midland Mainline in 1898, forming an alternative route to the original mainline.

During 1902 a new line was opened from Klipplaat, south of Graaff Reinet, westwards to Willowmore. This was extended to Oudtshoorn in 1904 but had to wait until 1913 for the mountainous line to George to be completed. As such, it opened an alternative through route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town via Worcester.

However, the line catered mainly for local traffic since it was steeply graded in places and trains could not operate at speeds associated with the main line via De Aar. After transport deregulation, rail traffic diminished as the road alternative was freed to compete. Major flooding in the Little Karoo forced closure of the line altogether for a period during the 1990’s but it was eventually re-opened and is operated today by three weekly trains. Because of the creation of new provincial borders after 1994, this line runs from the Eastern Cape into the Western Cape at a point north of Toorwaterpoort near Barandas, 90 km east of Oudtshoorn

The line north of Klipplaat to Graaff Reinet and Rosmead is closed but intact.

The Uitenhage – Klipplaat section has a ruling gradient of 1 in 35, beyond to Oudtshoorn it is 1 in 54, and over Montagu Pass to George it is 1 in 31. The entire line is single track and train control is by Radio Train Order. On the George – Oudtshoorn section (in the Western Cape) up to 20 trains could be operated in each direction per day, while beyond to Klipplaat the theoretical line capacity is 19 trains in each direction. Towards Uitenhage it is 22 trains in each direction. The distance between crossing loops is the main reason for this limitation.

The Swartkops – Uitenhage section has a 1 in 80 gradient and is controlled by CTC. (Centralised Traffic Control) Train operations include Metro suburban services, described elsewhere in this report.

Photo: Loading cars into Motor Vehicle train at Uitenhage

Traffic on the through route is minimal, the major commodity being gasses from Bartlesfontein (to the west of Mossel Bay). During 2005 – 2006, some 16 000 tons carried in tank cars was transported to Port Elizabeth and East London. In addition, over 5 300 tons of maize was received at Oudtshoon from Modderrivier, presumably via Port Elizabeth. A small volume of timber was transported from Knysna to Richards Bay, and some timber was received at Oudtshoorn as well. As late as the year 2000, four to five goods train were run on the Klipplaat – Oudtshoorn section each day and over 200 000 tons was moved over the route annually. This has now dropped to less than 25 000 tons and without the Graaff Reinet route being re-opened, traffic between the coast at George and Mossel Bay and the interior is unlikely to regained to rail.

The national railway administration investigated the future of this line as part of the Link Rail initiative in 2005 and proposed setting up an independently administered railway business unit named the ‘South Cape Railroad.’ It was envisaged that over 650 000 tons of traffic could be generated and received, of which nearly 60 000 would have been through traffic between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Unfortunately there appears to have been little activity to implement this proposal and the longer it takes to decide on a way forward, the less likely that the ambitions of the planners will be realised.

Klipplaat – Graaff Reinet – Rosmead (and Noupoort) Secondary Main line

This line is not currently in use. It was considered to be an important secondary arterial line in the past and it even boasted passenger trains Between Gauteng and Mossel Bay. As late as the year 2000 the line was served by two goods trains daily. The main traffic consisted of Mini Containers, perishable traffic and wool in the Up, or inland direction. In the opposite direction traffic included general goods, liquids, cement, containers and domestic coal.

It is ironic, that two important towns in the area, Graaff Reinet and Middleburg are now without rail services. The route is single track, with a 1 in 31 ruling gradient over Lootsberg Pass and the maximum permissible wagon axle load is 18,5 tons, the standard for the Uitenhage – Worcester route.

Cookhouse – King Williams Town and Blaney Secondary Mainline

This arterial route, opened in 1904, is the link between Port Elizabeth and East London, in addition to serving a number of agricultural communities en-route. Traffic has declined by over 50% since the early 1990’s and during the 2005 – 2006 review period, only about 100 000 tons of traffic flowed over the route. Of all the communities, only King Williams Town received any traffic. The main commodity transported was beer, which contributed over 60% of the total traffic.

62,706 tons of beer from the Redhouse brewery near Port Elizabeth was railed to East London via the Cookhouse – Blaney line.

Photo: Beer train passing Swartkops

During the 1999 – 2000 year, two daily goods train operated but this has now been reduced to just one. The ruling gradient is 1 in 34, and the maximum permissible axle load for goods wagons is 18,5 tons. Train control is by the Radio Track Warrant system.

For point to point traffic, the line competes with a much shorter road route and it is unlikely that much of the traffic which has been lost to road will be regained without national interventions.

Rosmead – Steynsburg – Stormberg Secondary Mainline

This once important arterial line, dating to 1892, has been closed for several years and part of the line has been uplifted for use on the reconstructed Belmont – Douglas branch in the Northern Cape. The 22,5 kg rail track panels from the branch have been brought in to replace the heavier track which as been taken away but the line is still broken in places. In the past, the line was used from passenger and freight traffic between the former Transkei and the Western Cape.

Photo: Railway line with track panels from Belmont – Douglas branch

Should it ever become necessary to use the line again the track panels could only accommodate an 11,5 ton axle load and would be of little use for mainline trains. There appears to be little opportunity to generate local traffic once again and it is unlikely that sufficient long-haul traffic would make the economically viable.

Statistics

Port Elizabeth - Noupoort - De Aar Main Line

East London - Springfontein Main Line

Blaney - King Williams Town - Cookhouse Line

Swartkops - Klipplaat - Oudtshoorn (and Western Cape) Line