🇿🇦 Country
Train routes in South Africa
10 routes · classic 2 · night train 4 · scenic 1 · mountain 1 · luxury 2
10 routes cross South Africa in the World Train Map atlas. The longest is The Blue Train at 1,600 km; the fastest is the Gautrain, running up to 160 km/h; the oldest line dates to 1890. Every route links to its facts, photo and story, and to the interactive world map.
Open the world railway map →Classic (2)
- Gautrain
South Africa’s 160 km/h Electrostars dive under Sandton’s bank towers, stitching Johannesburg to Pretoria in under an hour.
Wikipedia ↗ - Shosholoza Meyl Trans-Karoo
The classic Trans-Karoo run: a night and a day across the semi-desert heart of South Africa from the Highveld gold city down to Table Bay.
Wikipedia ↗
Night train (4)
- Shosholoza Meyl Limpopo
North to the Limpopo overnight, up through Polokwane and the bushveld to Musina, on a line that reached the copper town in 1914 and the river crossing to Zimbabwe in 1927.
- Shosholoza Meyl Komati
The old Delagoa Bay line to the Mozambique border, out through Pretoria and Witbank and down the escarpment past Nelspruit to the lowveld, overnight in a little over twelve hours.
- Shosholoza Meyl Trans-Natal
Down the Natal main line overnight: out of Johannesburg at half past eight, over the Drakensberg escarpment in the dark, into Durban and the Indian Ocean at seven.
- Shosholoza Meyl
The last affordable long-distance sleeper in South Africa: an overnight economy train across the Free State Highveld and Stormberg to the Indian Ocean at East London.
Wikipedia ↗
Scenic (1)
- Southern Line
From Muizenberg the rails run on a False Bay sea wall so close to the surf that winter swells spray the carriage windows at Kalk Bay.
Wikipedia ↗
Mountain (1)
- Flying Dutchman Funicular
Africa’s only commercial funicular, named for the ghost ship said to haunt Cape Point, lifts visitors 87 m toward the 1859 lighthouse.
Wikipedia ↗
Luxury (2)
- The Blue Train
A five-star hotel on rails: butlers, marble bathrooms and the Karoo semi-desert rolling past for 1,600 km.
Wikipedia ↗ - Rovos Rail
“The Pride of Africa”: teak-panelled suites through the bushveld to the smoke that thunders.
Wikipedia ↗
Photos via Wikimedia Commons — each route page credits the author & licence
What is the fastest train in South Africa?
The Gautrain, running Johannesburg to Pretoria at up to 160 km/h. It is one of 10 routes in South Africa in this atlas.
Are there night trains in South Africa?
Yes — 4 sleeper services in this atlas serve South Africa: Shosholoza Meyl Limpopo (Johannesburg – Musina), Shosholoza Meyl Komati (Johannesburg – Komatipoort), Shosholoza Meyl Trans-Natal (Johannesburg – Durban), Shosholoza Meyl (Johannesburg – East London).
Can you cross the border by train from South Africa?
Yes — 1 of its 10 routes continues into another country: Rovos Rail (Pretoria – Victoria Falls).
Which is the most scenic railway in South Africa?
South Africa has 2 scenic or mountain lines in this atlas. The longest is the Southern Line, 36 km.
Cross-border lines continue into
- 🇿🇼 Train routes in Zimbabwe 2 routes