EDITORIAL: Ramaphosa’s bold rail reform

One thing that President Cyril Ramaphosa got right in 2024 was to put both the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and Transnet under the same cabinet minister.

It never made sense to separate accountability for passenger and goods trains, with Prasa falling under the department of transport and Transnet Freight Rail answering to the department of public enterprises (now abolished). They use the same tracks and, in many cases, the same operating systems. The division at the turn of the 21st century created artificial rivalries, competition for resources, and duplication of bureaucracy...