Cape Town railway station is the main

Central station

A central station usually designates the principal passenger railway station of cities which have multiple stations. The central station functions as the main transport hub for rail transport, normally with interchange with other modes of public transport...

 railway station of the city of Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, South Africa. It is located along Adderley

Adderley Street

Adderley Street is a famous street in Cape Town, South Africa. It is considered the main street of the central business district of Cape Town...

 and Strand

Strand Street (Cape Town)

Strand Street is one of the main streets in the central business district of Cape Town, South Africa. It runs northwest-southeast through the centre from Green Point to Woodstock, passing the Golden Acre shopping centre, the Cape Town railway station, the central bus terminal, and the Castle of...

 Streets in the city's central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

.

Cape Town station is the hub of the Metrorail Western Cape commuter rail network, which is operated by the Metrorail

Metrorail (South Africa)

Metrorail is an operator of commuter rail services in the major urban areas of South Africa. It is a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa , a state-owned enterprise which is responsible for most passenger rail services in South Africa...

 division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). The network consists of four lines, all of which originate from Cape Town: the Southern Line via the Southern Suburbs

Southern Suburbs, Cape Town

The Southern Suburbs are a group of suburbs in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. This group includes Rondebosch, Claremont, Plumstead, Ottery, Wynberg, Newlands, Constantia and Bishopscourt, and to some aspects Pinelands and Observatory too....

 to Simon's Town

Simon's Town

Simon's Town , sometimes spelled Simonstown; is a town in South Africa, near Cape Town which is home to the South African Navy. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula. For more than two centuries it has been an important naval base and harbour...

; the Cape Flats Line

Cape Flats Line

The Cape Flats Line is a commuter rail line in Cape Town, South Africa, operated by Metrorail Western Cape. It connects central Cape Town with the suburbs of Pinelands, Athlone, Lansdowne, Ottery and Retreat.-Route:...

 via Athlone

Athlone, Cape Town

Athlone is a suburb of Cape Town located to the east of the city centre on the Cape Flats to the south of the N2 highway. It is named after Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone who was Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 1924 to 1930...

 to Retreat

Retreat, Cape Town

-Geography:Retreat is bordered by Lavender Hill to the south and Heathfield to the north. Retreat railway station is on the main line from Cape Town to Simon's Town. Main Road runs along the west of Retreat....

; the Central Line

Central Line (Cape Town)

The Central Line is a commuter rail service in Cape Town, South Africa operated by Metrorail Western Cape. Central Line services operate along two routes from central Cape Town to Langa, and then along three branches from Langa to various areas in the south-east of the city...

 via Langa

Langa, Cape Town

Langa is a suburb found in Cape Town, South Africa. It was established in 1927 interms of the 1923 Urban Areas Act. Similar to Nyanga, Langa is one of the many areas in South Africa that were designated for Black Africans before the apartheid era. It is the oldest of such suburbs in Cape Town and...

 to Mitchell's Plain

Mitchell's Plain

Mitchells Plain is a largely coloured township about 20 km from the city of Cape Town. It is one of South Africa's largest townships. It is located on the Cape Flats on the False Bay coast between Strandfontein and Khayelitsha...

, Khayelitsha

Khayelitsha

Khayelitsha is a partially informal township in Western Cape, South Africa, located on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town. The name is Xhosa for New Home...

 and Bellville

Bellville, Cape Town

Bellville is a former city in the Western Cape province of South Africa; it is now part of the greater Cape Town metropolitan area. It falls within the area of the City of Cape Town municipality....

; and the Northern Line

Northern Line (Cape Town)

The Northern Line is a commuter rail service in and around Cape Town, South Africa operated by Metrorail Western Cape. Northern Line services operate from central Cape Town to Bellville, and then from Bellville along three different routes. The first route runs along the main Cape Town–De Aar...

 via Bellville to Paarl

Paarl

Paarl is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its the third oldest European settlement in the Republic of South Africa and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington...

, Stellenbosch and Somerset West.

Shosholoza Meyl

Shosholoza Meyl

Shosholoza Meyl is a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa that operates long-distance passenger rail services. It operates various train routes across South Africa, carrying approximately 4 million passengers annually...

, the inter-city rail

Inter-city rail

Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that cover longer distances than commuter or regional trains.There is no precise definition of inter-city rail. Its meaning may vary from country to country...

 division of PRASA, operates several long-distance passenger rail services from Cape Town: a daily service to and from Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

 via Kimberley; a weekly service to and from Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 via Kimberley, Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...

 and Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...

; and a weekly service to and from East London. These trains terminate at Cape Town station, as well as making a brief stop at Bellville

Bellville railway station

Bellville railway station is a railway station in the town of Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. It is the second-biggest station in the Cape Town Metrorail railway network, after the Cape Town terminus. All trains on Metrorail's Northern Line pass through Bellville, and one branch of the...

.

Shosholoza Meyl also operates two semi-luxury Premier Classe services from Cape Town: twice-weekly trains to and from Johannesburg via Kimberley, and weekly trains to and from Port Elizabeth via George

George, Western Cape

George is a city with 203,253 inhabitants in South Africa's Western Cape province. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre and the administrative and commercial hub of the Garden Route.- Location :...

 and Oudtshoorn.

Cape Town Railway Station is also used by the luxury tourist-oriented Blue Train

Blue Train (South Africa)

The Blue Train travels an approximately journey in South Africa between Pretoria and Cape Town. It is one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world...

 and the private train holiday company Rovos Rail

Rovos Rail

Rovos Rail is a private railway company operating out of Capital Park Station in Pretoria, South Africa. The Society of International Railway Travelers has regularly named the Pride of Africa, as the train is called, as one of the World's Top 25 Trains because of its excellent accommodation, public...

.

In years past, Cape Town Railway Station was the starting point for many adventurers on their way to explore Africa. They would buy some or all their supplies in Cape Town and then take a steam train out of Cape Town Station.

Improvements

The Cape Town railway station complex, completed in 1961 and covering between 25 and 35 city blocks, is undergoing a multibillion-rand redevelopment over several years. The project is a joint initiative between PRASA-Metrorail and Intersite, the property management company.

The immediate emphasis was on improving the look and feel as well as commuter comfort, with better access, information, safety and security ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup. There were no structural changes to the station complex before 2010.

Notable places nearby

Cape Town railway station is the only one in the City Bowl

City Bowl

The City Bowl is a part of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a natural amphitheatre-shaped area bordered by Table Bay and defined by the mountains of Signal Hill, Lion's Head, Table Mountain and Devil's Peak....

, so it is the nearest station to all the places of interest in central Cape Town. In the immediate vicinity of the station can be found:

• Cape Town City Hall
  Cape Town City Hall
  Cape Town City Hall is a large Edwardian building in Cape Town city centre which was built in 1905. It is located on the Grand Parade to the west of the Castle and is built from honey-coloured oolitic limestone imported from Bath in England.-History:...
  
  
• Cape Town Civic Centre
  Cape Town Civic Centre
  The Cape Town Civic Centre is a building in central Cape Town, South Africa that serves as the headquarters of the City of Cape Town, the municipality that governs Cape Town and its suburbs....
  
  
• Artscape Theatre Centre
  Artscape Theatre Centre
  Artscape Theatre Centre is the main performing arts centre in Cape Town, South Africa. It was opened in 1971 and is located on reclaimed land in the Foreshore area...
  
  
• The Grand Parade
  Grand Parade (Cape Town)
  The Grand Parade is the main public square in Cape Town, South Africa.The square is surrounded by the Cape Town City Hall, the Castle of Good Hope, and the Cape Town railway station....
  
  
• Castle of Good Hope
  Castle of Good Hope
  The Castle of Good Hope is a star fort which was built on the original coastline of Table Bay and now, because of land reclamation, lies nearer to the Cape Town city centre in South Africa.-History:...
  
  

Services