The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) on Thursday denied that any plans were in the pipeline to transfer the Cape Metrorail system to the City of Cape Town.

“No such plans are under way and Metrorail will remain an integral part of the agency for a very long time,” the national passenger operator said in a statement.

Prasa explained that the Transport Department was undertaking discussions within the context of the National Land Transport Act to allocate public transport subsidies to the cities with commuter passenger rail services. This would enable the cities, as planning authorities, direct contact with operators such as Metrorail, giving the cities a voice in the planning and delivery of commuter rail services in order to enable integrated transport planning.

“This discussion is not about the transfer of Metrorail to the cities, something that the law does not allow, as passenger rail services are a national function governed by the Legal Succession Act,” the agency said.
 

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