THE BLUE TRAIN IS BACK

South Africa’s famous luxury train is back in business.

The Blue Train faced a series of unfortunate events which led to it not being able to generate an income for several months.

The Transnet-owned train faced the restrictions brought on by the Coivd-19 pandemic which meant it was brought to a complete halt for a few months.

Once the associated restrictions were lifted, the train suffered two derailments.

The first derailment took place at the start of November 2021. The coaches that derailed at the Union Station Loop in Germiston were empty at the time. It was expected that the luxury train would be able to continue operations, but then the second derailment happened.

During mid-January this year the second derailment happened at the maintenance depot in Salvokop south of Pretoria Central.

Only three weeks after that, a fire gutted one of the coaches while it was in for repairs at the start of the year. The fire took place at Transnet’s engineering facility in Koedoespoort, Pretoria.

Transnet announced that a successful investigation took place into the events and that the Blue Train will “resume imminently.”

News24 reports that a trip aboard the Blue Train between Pretoria and Cape Town is considered one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world. Promoted as a “moving five-star hotel-on-wheels” with fine dining, elegant lounges, and luxury suites, the Blue Train’s origins date back almost a century.

Image credit: Daily Sabah