Tourism Update spotlights selected rail offerings due to launch in the 2018/2019 financial year.
Rovos Rail
Rovos Rail provides both an economy service, Shongololo Express and a luxury service, Pride of Africa.
Damian Sadie, General Manager of Rovos Rail, says they are in the process of building their sixth train for Shongololo Express. “All our trains have 21 coaches and carry up to 72 people.”
He says they have allocated 16 extra departures for Rovos Rail’s luxury brand, Durban Safari route, and plan to increase their annual journey departures for the 2018/2019 financial year. “We will be adding an extra departure to each of our annual journeys.”
Rovos Rail also has a new route in the pipeline for 2019, from Dar es Salaam to Benguela in Angola through the DRC. “We are waiting for one section of track to be built before we can launch this route.”
Suzanne Benadie, Sales Director at Tourvest DMC, says: “Tourvest DMC has partnered with Rovos Rail to create a two-night, three-day KwaZulu Natal programme for one of our group tour operators. The rail route incorporates scenery, safari and the historic battlefields. Receiving almost an immediate uptake, it has virtually sold out for the next two years. By offering the train as a highlight to a regular group tour, we have created product that has been very well received by our international markets.”
Renier Friis, General Manager: Business Development & Contracting at Tourvest DMC, says: “At the moment we sell all three of the major cross-country rail offerings in South Africa, namely Rovos Rail, The Blue Train and Shongololo Express. We are able to confidently sell these to our international client base because they have proven to be reliable and of high service standard and each caters for a variety of budgets.”
Shosholoza Meyl
Daisy Daniel, spokesperson for Shosholoza Meyl, says the demand for rail travel was high this year and they expect this to continue into 2018.
“We added 62 extra departures this financial year to keep up with demand during high peak times. There are discussions taking place regarding the reintroduction of the Durban-Cape Town route and the possibility of reintroducing regional services such as the Kruger, Limpopo and Free State routes. However, there are no set plans in place at this time.”
Daniel says the operator will focus on improving its corporate coach offerings in 2018. “Our corporate coaches seat 30 people and have grown in popularity. We see this as a great opportunity to develop our market share and are looking to expand on these offers.
“We have also seen an increase in requests for train rides that provide car transport (where passengers’ cars can be loaded on the train). As a result there are discussions regarding the reintroduction of this service on the Johannesburg-Port Elizabeth route, and adding this service to the East London-Johannesburg route.”
