Social media posts about a “reimagined” express rail line to the Cape Town city centre have been gaining traction online but the municipality has distanced itself from the posts, saying the project is not part of its approved public transport planning programme.

The posts, by Capetrain Express or CapeTrainx, show AI renderings of a sleek train running above roads in the city centre. According to the posts, the “reimagined” rail would link Cape Town International Airport to the CBD, Stellenbosch, Paarl, the Northern and Southern Suburbs, Cape Flats, West Coast, Helderberg and the planned Cape Winelands Airport. It reimagines the train running on what it describes as an existing unfinished rail infrastructure in the City.

One post, played against a backdrop of a song called “Unstoppable”, says: “The Capetrain Express Project proposes a new express rail network that will serve as the backbone of a reimagined public transport system for the greater Cape Town metropolitan area. Designed to complement and integrate with the existing rail network, the project aims to provide a fast, reliable and affordable mass-transit alternative to road-based transport, significantly reducing travel times and easing congestion in the city’s most traffic-strained corridors by connecting major economic and residential nodes. Building on lessons from the Gautrain, the initiative seeks to deliver an inclusive, high-quality express rail service accessible to all residents.”

The posts have caused an explosion of comments, with some people reacting with excitement and others with trepidation.

City distances itself from proposal

However, the City has confirmed that the proposal is just a concept and not part of any concrete planning.

Councillor Rob Quintas, the Mayco member for urban mobility, said: “The City is not pursuing the Skytrain or Capetrain Express proposals as part of its approved public transport planning programme. These are concepts originating outside of the City’s planning processes and are not currently supported by the City’s transport modelling or planning priorities.”

Concept founder approached

TygerBurger reached out to Gareth Ramsay who is the concept’s “project lead”, according to LinkedIn.

Ramsay confirmed that he is the concept’s founder and lead engineer.

TygerBurger asked him:

• How concrete is this proposal at the moment?
• Is it just a concept or has a proposal been put forward to the relevant authorities already?
• How much would a project like this cost?
• Who would fund it?
• What are the biggest barriers to this proposal at the moment?
• How feasible is the proposal or is it too ambitious?”

Ramsay had not responded by the time of publication.

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