The Southern Line

This is the line that matters to visitors. It runs from Cape Town station out through Observatory, Rondebosch, Newlands and Claremont, then down to Retreat and along the coast through Muizenberg, St James, Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek.

The coastal stretch is the reason to take it. Muizenberg for the beach and the surf schools, St James for the bathing boxes, Kalk Bay for the harbour, the bookshops and lunch. These are stations you walk out of and into the place itself, which is not true of most of Cape Town.

Service has improved substantially. Trains have been running roughly every fifteen to twenty minutes in the peaks and every twenty to thirty off-peak, including weekends, and mostly to time. It is not a service you would stake a flight on, but it is a service you can plan a day around.

Fish Hoek, and why we stop there

The line continues from Fish Hoek to Simon’s Town, and that last stretch has been the least reliable part of the route, worked by a shuttle and repeatedly interrupted. Trains do run it, but we would not build a day around catching one.

If Simon’s Town, Boulders Beach or Cape Point is the point of the day, take a car or an organised trip. If a coastal train ride is the point of the day, go as far as Fish Hoek and enjoy it.

The Northern Line and Stellenbosch

A separate line runs out through Bellville and Eerste River to Stellenbosch. It reopened in 2024 after four years closed, and it is a real service, but it is a different line from the Southern one and the two are regularly confused.

It gets you to the town of Stellenbosch. It does not get you to the wine farms, which are spread across valleys outside it. For that distinction, and what to do about it, see How to Get to Stellenbosch and Get Around.

Tickets, in practice

Tickets are bought in person, in cash, at the station ticket office, and can also be bought on board. There is no app and no card. Fares are very low by any standard.

The practical consequence is a queue. Arrive with cash and a little time rather than expecting to tap through a gate. Ticket offices are not always open at quieter stations.

Travelling comfortably

Peak trains into town are genuinely full. If you are travelling for the view rather than to be somewhere, go mid-morning or early afternoon and you will have space and windows.

Behave as you would on any urban railway anywhere: keep your phone in your pocket rather than in your hand at the door, keep bags closed and on your lap, and travel in the busier carriages rather than an empty one. Guards patrol the coastal stretch. We are not going to tell you the line is dangerous, and we are not going to tell you to switch off either.

Our view

Take the train to Kalk Bay on a weekday late morning, eat lunch at the harbour, walk to St James and come back when you feel like it. It is one of the best cheap days out in the city and no car will improve it. For everything else, read Getting Around Cape Town and pick a different mode.