Hennie Ferreira, organiser of the final train trip from Grahamstown to Alicedale, has received disappointing feedback from Metrorail regarding ticket prices for the trip.
Hennie Ferreira, organiser of the final train trip from Grahamstown to Alicedale, has received disappointing feedback from Metrorail regarding ticket prices for the trip.
Since he has been involved in organising the trip, Ferreira, who is a former railway station operating inspector, has been negotiating with Metrorail, a commuter railway service that operates in urban metropolitan areas, to offer interested passengers a chance to experience the scenic beauty of the Grahamstown railway line for the last time.
The Alicedale/Johannesburg line from Grahamstown was closed earlier in the year.
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He says he was expecting the ticket price to be affordable (around R50) but Metrorail says the trip will cost R350 per person because hiring the train itself costs R193 000.
The date that has been set for the trip is 10 October and 550 passengers are expected to board the train. "I am disappointed because it’s expensive and not everyone can afford to pay that price,” he said. Although Metrorail has decided on a ticket price and a passenger number, Ferreira says he is trying to negotiate with them to at least offer the passengers a more reasonable price for a ticket.
According to the trip schedule so far an empty coaching stock will depart from Alicedale at 8am and will arrive in Grahamstown at 9.51am. It will then depart from Grahamstown at 11am and then arrive in Alicedale at 12.24am. From Alicedale it will depart at 2pm, returning to Grahamstown at 3.51pm.
The various points that the train will be passing through include Stonehaven, Highlands, Atherstone, Cold Spring, Goodwins Kloof and West Hill. If the negotiations with Metrorail to decrease the ticket price fail, Ferreira says he might have to opt for another railway line company such as Shosholoza Meyl, which along with Metrorail falls under the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
"People have been waiting for a while and it might be disappointing if the trip fails due to the cost of tickets," he said.
Ferrerira can be contacted on 072 010 1004 or 046 624 8476.
