Central Line
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	PRASA
Locale	Cape Town,South Africa
Termini	Cape Town Kapteinsklip Chris Hani Bellville
Stations	33
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metrorail Western Cape
Services	3
Operator(s)	Metrorail
Depot(s)	Salt River
Rolling stock	X'Trapolis Mega
Technical
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Overhead catenary
Route map Legend Cape Town 0:00 0:00 N2 Eastern Blvd Woodstock 0:03 0:04 Esplanade Salt River 0:06 0:07 Paarden Eiland Southern Line 0:09 Ysterplaat Salt River M5 Black River Pkwy Koeberg Road 0:09 Maitland 0:11 Northern Line Monte Vista branch Ndabeni 0:14 Pinelands 0:16 0:15 Mutual Cape Flats Line Northern Line Elsieskraal River 0:20 Langa Bonteheuwel 0:23 0:00 0:23 0:00 Netreg 0:03 0:05 Lavistown N2 Settler's Way 0:09 Belhar Heideveld 0:06 0:12 Unibell Nyanga 0:10 0:15 Pentech Philippi 0:14 0:18 Sarepta Northern Line R300 Cape Flats Fwy 0:24 Bellville Lentegeur 0:19 Mitchell's Plain 0:23 Northern Line Wellington branch Kapteinsklip 0:26 Northern Line Stellenbosch branch Stock Road 0:18 Mandalay 0:21 Nolungile 0:25 Nonkqubela 0:28 Khayelitsha 0:32 Kuyasa 0:38 Chris Hani 0:44 This diagram: view talk edit

TheCentral Line is acommuter rail service inCape Town,South Africa, operated byMetrorail Western Cape. Central Line services operate along two routes from central Cape Town toLanga, and then along three branches from Langa to various areas in the south-east of the city. The first branch runs toMitchell's Plain, the second toKhayelitsha, and the third passes throughBelhar to terminate inBellville.^[1]

Central Line trains depart fromCape Town station on one of two routes. The first route runs along the original Cape Town–Bellville main line throughSalt River toMaitland, and then branches south to pass around the western and southern edge ofPinelands toLanga station. The other route runs along the relief main line pastPaarden Eiland and then branches south throughKensington toMutual station; from Mutual it runs along the eastern edge of Pinelands to Langa.^[2]

From Langa station all trains pass throughBonteheuwel station; some continue east throughBishop Lavis andBelhar, passing theUniversity of the Western Cape before turning north and then west to terminate atBellville. Other trains branch south afterBonteheuwel, passingManenberg andGugulethu toPhilippi station. From Philippi, one branch passes south throughMitchell's Plain to terminate atKapteinsklip station, while the other passes south-east throughKhayelitsha to terminate atChris Hani station.^[2][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]

The Central Line serves the following stations:^[1]

The line is made up of1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) track, electrified with 3,000 V DCoverhead catenary; all parts of the line are at least double track. Services are operated mostly byelectric multiple units ofClass 5M2 and (on the Khayelitsha line)Class 8M.

After 2011,PRASA was increasingly unable to maintain the line and the Khayelitsha line ceased operation in 2019 due to vandalism and metal theft. More recently, plans to reopen it have been thwarted by squatters occupying the railway territory.^[4][5][6] It is proposed to re-open the line by December 2022,^[7][8][9] though many previous deadlines have been missed. Rail workers attempting to restore the line have been assaulted by armed gangs.^[10] As of 2023, service is gradually being restored.^[11][12]

The Central Line was reopened in late May, 2025. During a Parliamentary session, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Donald Selamolela, expressed appreciation for the reopening of the Central Line. A reopening ceremony was attended by the Minister of Transport,Barbara Creecy; Deputy Minister of Transport,Mkhuleko Hlengwa; and City of Cape Town Mayor,Geordin Hill-Lewis.^[13]

Selamolela urged the community, and community leaders, to play a role in protecting and guarding the rolling stock and the network. He further stated that the reopening should not end with the photo opportunity of officials, but with a real change in people’s lives, through the provision of affordable, safe, and reliable public transport, and with rail being the preferred mode of transport. Selamolela stated that PRASA should work to regain people's trust in its rail services.^[13]

• Metrorail (South Africa)
• Railway lines in South Africa
• 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in South Africa

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Pages using the Kartographer extension