Cape Town railway station
terminal railway station in Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town railway station is the main railway station of the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It is located along Adderley and Strand Streets, in the city's central business district (CBD).
Lines
Metrorail lines
Cape Town station is the hub of the Metrorail Western Cape commuter rail network, which is operated by the Metrorail division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). The network consists of four lines, all of which originate from Cape Town: the Southern Line via the Southern Suburbs to Simon's Town; the Cape Flats Line via Athlone to Retreat; the Central Line via Langa to Mitchell's Plain, Khayelitsha and Bellville; and the Northern Line via Bellville to Paarl, Stellenbosch and Somerset West.
Shosholoza Meyl
Shosholoza Meyl, the inter-city rail division of PRASA, operates several long-distance passenger rail services from Cape Town: a daily service to and from Johannesburg via Kimberley; a weekly service to and from Durban via Kimberley, Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg; and a weekly service to and from East London. These trains terminate at Cape Town station, as well as making a brief stop at Bellville.
Shosholoza Meyl also operates a semi-luxury Premier Classe service from Cape Town: weekly trains to and from Johannesburg via Kimberley.
Other
Cape Town Railway Station is also used by the luxury tourist-oriented Blue Train and the private train holiday company Rovos Rail.
Services
Trains do not normally operate on a Sunday or a public holiday.
History and alterations
The first structure
The first railway station in Cape Town was a rudimentary wooden structure built in 1861, and was located on the site of the present Golden Acre shopping centre.
“Cape Town railway station” enters the record as terminal railway station in Cape Town, South Africa. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Cape, Town and railway can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Cape Town railway station” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Cape, Town and railway provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1034496. Authority coordinates are -33.922, 18.426. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1861.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cape Town railway station”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cape Town railway station primary sources, Cape Town railway station archive and Cape research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Cape Town railway station” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.