Gerome W

Shosholoza meyl

On Friday the 5th of January 2024, I boarded the shosholoza train from Germiston to Queenstown with my granddaughter. I haven't been on a train since the early 90ties and was really looking forward to this journey, and this was supposed to be a treat for my young one. It started of badly. It arrived 20 minutes late and then took a hour to depart. From there it was It was a stop/go stop/go affair. Our arrival time in Queenstown was supposed to be 04h09 the next morning, but we were still in Bloemfontein by then. When enquired as to why, I was told that the train had engine problems. By 13h00, it came to a complete breakdown in burgersdorp. Two hours later it was decided that busses will be hired to take us futher. Busses eventually got to the station just before 18h00, and I got home at 20h50 the Saturday night. 32 hours later. An absolute nightmare.