City given green light for rail study

CAPE Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced that the City’s Urban Mobility Directorate has received permission to conduct a detailed feasibility study on the metropolitan rail function.

Speaking during a council meeting yesterday, Hill-Lewis disclosed that the national government, through Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, had shown support for the devolution of the metropolitan rail function to the City.

“I think every councillor here, and every resident of the city, shares my frustration with the national government-controlled passenger rail service, run by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).

“The national government’s rail service has reached a crisis point in Cape Town, with just 33 operational train sets in 2020 compared with 95 train sets in 1995.

“If a local or regional government can carry out functions that the national government is failing to fulfil, then those functions should be devolved to that local or regional authority. This is what I call ‘functional federalism’. Thankfully, the Constitution backs me up on this point.

“I am very pleased to announce here today that the City of Cape Town is now ready to proceed with a detailed feasibility study for the devolution of the metropolitan rail function to this metro,” Hill-Lewis said.

The City has already issued a tender for the study, and work is expected to begin as soon as the new financial year starts in July, Hill-Lewis said.

DA interim provincial leader Tertuis Simmers said the party was delighted with the news of the study and was looking forward to the work that would get trains up and running again.