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Cape Town is bracing for a rugby crowd of epic proportions this Saturday, and Metrorail is getting into position.
With the Springboks facing the All Blacks at DHL Stadium on Saturday, 29 August, PRASA Western Cape is adding extra train services to help thousands of supporters get to the match.
The 5:10pm kick-off is expected to draw around 62,000 fans to the stadium, with congestion forecast around the CBD, Green Point and the stadium precinct.
PRASA says the additional services are designed to provide a safe, reliable and convenient alternative to private transport while relieving the pressure off Cape Town’s roads.
Rail can move large numbers of people at once, making it particularly useful when a major sporting event sends an entire city into rugby mode.
‘The People’s Train’
The agency has also announced a special R20 return fare for the rugby services.
Supporters are encouraged to buy their return tickets before travelling and to arrive at their departure stations early. That should help reduce queues and make the journey a little less frantic before kick-off.
And there is another reason to leave the car at home: the roads around DHL Stadium are expected to be busy. The City of Cape Town has a wider transport management plan in place for the match, with public transport strongly encouraged.
Free MyCiTi shuttle buses
Metrorail’s extra services are part of that bigger match-day push. MyCiTi will also operate free event shuttles for fans with valid match tickets, with services running from locations including the Civic Centre, Thibault Square, the CTICC and Bellville Velodrome.
The first services start from 11:30am, while the last return shuttles leave the stadium at 10:30pm.
The Springboks and All Blacks are expected to bring plenty of noise to DHL Stadium, and the last thing supporters need is to spend the afternoon stuck in traffic instead of soaking up the gees.
Get to the station early, grab that return ticket and let the People’s Train do the heavy lifting. Because when 62,000 rugby fans are heading in the same direction, the Mother City’s roads are going to have to tackle a very different kind of opposition.
Go Bokke!
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