The Northern Line is a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...

service in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

that in the

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

metropolitan area and its surroundings and is operated by

Metrorail Western Cape Metrorail Western Cape is a network of commuter and suburban rail services in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality (metropolitan area of Cape Town) and in the surrounding towns of Malmesbury, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Wellington in the ...

. Northern Line services operate from central Cape Town to Bellville, and then from Bellville along three different routes. The first route runs along the main Cape Town–

De Aar De Aar is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It has a population of around 42,000 inhabitants. It is the second-most important railway junction in the country, situated on the line between Cape Town and Kimberley. The junction ...

railway line to

Paarl Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

. The second route passes through

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

to terminate at Muldersvlei station on the main line, while the third also passes through

Somerset West Somerset West ( af, Somerset-Wes) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality as a suburb of the Helderberg region (formerly called Hottent ...

to terminate in Strand. Since March 2020 most of this line has not been operated. Maintenance has not been carried out and parts of the line are stolen or vandalised and not replaced. Communication by the operator is scarce, but when given often overly optimistic on its ability to return the service to its former shape. For all intends and purposes - this line was operated as a commuter service in the past - the entire portion past Bellville is defunct.

Route

Most Northern Line trains travel from

Cape Town station 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. Lines Metrorail lines Cape Town station is the hub of the ...

along the old main line through Salt River,

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

, Goodwood and Parow to Bellville station. Trains on the Wellington route continue from Bellville along the main line through

Brackenfell Brackenfell is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa at the gateway to the Cape Winelands. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality as a Northern Suburb and is about ...

and

Kraaifontein Kraaifontein is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality as a Northern Suburb. The name originated from large number of crows ('' ...

, and then through the farmland outside the city to reach the towns of

and

. Other trains branch south-east after Bellville, passing through

Kuils River Kuils River (Afrikaans: Kuilsrivier) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, 25 km (15 miles) east of Cape Town CBD at the gateway of the Cape Winelands. It is also the name of the main tributary of the Eerste River, and forms part of the ...

Eerste River The Eerste River, located in the Western Cape, South Africa, rises on Dwarsberg 60 km east of Cape Town at the head of Jonkershoek. The Eerste River catchment covers the eastern part of the Cape Flats lying to the west of the Hottentots H ...

; From there, some turn north to pass through

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

and terminate at Muldersvlei station on the main line, while others continue south-east through

along the line towards Caledon. Shortly after Somerset West they branch from this line to terminate at Strand on the

False Bay False Bay ( Afrikaans ''Valsbaai'') is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is dema ...

coast. The Northern Line also includes a service along the relief main line from Cape Town past

Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one o ...

and Monte Vista to Bellville.

Station listing

The Northern line serves the following stations:

Operation

The line is made up of track, electrified with 3,000 V DC

overhead catenary An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipment ...

; most of the routes are at least double track, except for the Strand and Stellenbosch lines beyond Eerste River. Services are operated mostly by electric multiple units of Class 5M2.

References

{{Cape Town, transport Metrorail (South Africa) Railway lines in South Africa 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in South Africa