How Close Is Cape Town to Taking Over Commuter Rail?

[John Ashworth]

How Close Is Cape Town to Taking Over Commuter Rail?

Devolution of rail has long been government policy, but to date there has been little progress or coordination to achieve this, either by national government or from municipalities. According to the National Land Transport Act of 2009 (NLTA), commuter rail should be located "in the appropriate sphere of government". The City of Cape Town appears to be ready to claim its responsibilities for commuter rail. On 13 December, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis released a statement, which argued that the persistently poor performance of PRASA "confirms the urgency for rail devolution". Hill-Lewis said that there is no hope of the national government turning around passenger rail and they need to start planning for the handover process without delay...