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City Guide - Johannesburg - Rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rail Spoornet (formerly South African Railways; tel: (011) 773 2992; web site: www.spoornet.co.za) is the national rail provider. Metrorail (tel: (011) 773 5878 or (0800) 127 070; web site: www.tnet.co.za) is the suburban train service provider. Park Station, 25 Leyds Street, Braamfontein (tel: (011) 773 5878), Johannesburg's main station, is situated in the Park City suburban and mainline rail and coach terminus, one kilometre (0.5 miles) from the centre of town. Facilities include ATMs, banks, restaurant, bookshop, travel information, car hire, left-luggage and transit centre. Rail services: Johannesburg's Park Station is a terminus for all Spoornet regional and Metrorail suburban routes, allowing for daily, if fairly slow, links to many parts of greater Johannesburg (including Soweto) and the rest of South Africa. Metrorail trains (platforms 1-11) run to Naledi (Soweto), Pretoria, Vereeniging, Springs, Randfontein, Carltonville and Oberholzer and stations en-route. The mainline routes (platforms 13-20) have three classes. First class is recommended for tourists, as second and third are generally fully booked well in advance and experience problems with overcrowding and theft. First-class compartments sleep four in double bunks, which convert to benches for day travel. Bedding is provided at R20 extra. Trains have restaurant carriages. The Transkaroo Express to Cape Town departs daily at 1230 (journey time - 24 hours) and costs R390. The Transnatal Express to Durban departs daily at 1830 (journey time - 14 hours) and costs R195. The Algoa Express trains to Port Elizabeth depart daily at 1245 (journey time - 20 hours 45 minutes) and cost R290. There are no trains direct to neighbouring countries, but the Komati Express runs via Nelspruit to Komatipoort on the Mozambique border, from where minibuses run to Maputo. Transport to the city: Although the station is extremely central, it is an area where muggings of tourists are common; visitors are advised to use the metered taxis or shuttle buses available from the transit centre. |
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