Deputy President Paul Mashatile has outlined the government's comprehensive strategy to rehabilitate South Africa's deteriorating rail infrastructure, describing it as central to the country's economic recovery agenda. Speaking during an oral question session in the National Council of Provinces in Cape Town on Thursday, Mashatile detailed how authorities were deploying rapid interventions to tackle service delivery failures and infrastructure breakdowns across the network.
"We have prioritised stronger intergovernmental coordination, improved planning and more effective execution across the spheres of government to restore the performance of critical economic infrastructure, including rail," he said. Multiple government departments — including Public Works and Infrastructure, Transport, Water and Sanitation, and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs — are collaborating to upgrade and safeguard strategic infrastructure that underpins economic activity and employment.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has set aside R21.9 billion through the budget facility for infrastructure to fund key projects, among them upgrades to Transnet's coal and iron ore corridors aimed at restoring freight rail capacity. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is simultaneously advancing its corridor recovery programme, having commissioned 35 of its 40 passenger corridors by the close of 2025 and recording 77 million audited passenger journeys on long-distance services. PRASA's long-distance division intends to revive several mainline routes during the 2026/27 financial year, pending adequate funding and locomotive availability, including services between Johannesburg and Durban, Johannesburg and Queenstown, East London and Johannesburg, Cape Town and Johannesburg, Johannesburg and Musina, and Cape Town and Queenstown.
The Deputy President noted that PRASA was deploying thousands of kilometres of fibre optic cable as part of a modernised signalling system developed through private sector partnerships, enhancing safety and real-time communication across the network. Transnet's rail infrastructure manager, in conjunction with the Department of Transport and strategic partners, is meanwhile working to bring underutilised, vandalised or dormant rail assets back into productive service. "This work includes the revival of critical rail services that support agriculture, mining, manufacturing hubs and rural trading towns that rely heavily on rail connectivity," Mashatile said.
Through the Operation Vulindlela reform programme, authorities are fast-tracking structural changes to the rail and logistics sector, including opening the network to third-party operators to boost efficiency and competition. Mashatile told media that government planned to channel R500 billion into infrastructure over the coming three years, with R120 billion earmarked specifically for transport — covering rail rehabilitation, port efficiency improvements and road maintenance. Implementation of the National Rail Policy 2022 is already under way, with the concessioning of rail lines progressing into operational rollout across corridors.
Eleven major freight companies have been enlisted to participate in the revitalisation effort, with contract finalisation ongoing to enable work on various corridors. Mashatile expressed confidence that the combination of substantial government investment, bold policy reforms and active private sector involvement would succeed in reversing the prolonged decline of South Africa's rail system.
