South Africa's passenger rail trips are now back up to levels last seen before the Covid-19 lockdown. A month before the lockdown, in February 2020, there were 10.1-million monthly passenger rail trips, according to Stats SA's Land Transport Survey.

Six years on March 2026 recorded 10.5-million trips, the highest monthly total since the lockdown ended.

What's driving it? The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has restored services on 35 of its 40 train lines, though only around 70% are running a full service. Prasa has also grown its rail fleet from 96 to 134 trains, according to its 2024/25 annual report.

Even so, trips remain roughly a fifth of their historic peak of 54.6-million, set in July 2009, seventeen years ago. Prasa's 2019/20 annual report links the earlier drop in passenger trips to vandalism and theft of rail infrastructure, following the termination of national security contracts around October 2019 and December 2019. The vandalism and theft of infrastructure was exacerbated during the 2020 lockdown.