SA to get national rail plan soon

By Simon Nare

President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised a masterplan to fix the rail system that he argues will be the future of rail in the country and cover all the major cities.

The president said in in his weekly newsletter that the system would include a high-speed train for long distances and work was underway to finalise the plan.

“Work is underway to develop a National Rail Masterplan that will lay out the future for rail in South Africa. Among other things, the masterplan will cover passenger rail in our cities, including rapid rail.

“It will also cover high speed rail over long distances between centres. The substantial work required to develop the masterplan is expected to be completed by the end of next year,” he said in the newsletter.

Ramaphosa said that as the country celebrated transport month in October, the nation needed to recognise that affordable public