April 14, 2004
Durban to Johannesburg
Shosholoza Meyl First Class
“The Trans Natal” Car 8 Coupe A
715p-745a

Pictures can be found HERE

Shosholoza Meyl is the new name of the old South African Railways. To make reservations for this train, I had to call long distance from Tasmania, something that required a good number of attempts before I finally got through and then only after calling the corporate number and being connected to reservations through their secretary.

In addition to basic Economy Class seating, Shosholoza Meyl offers three choices of sleeping accommodations for those more willing or able to pay the higher fare. The least expensive is the Second Class Sleeper. By day this compartment seats six on two padded couches – three on each side facing each other. By night it sleeps all of them in triple tiered bunks.

First Class Sleepers sleep four. The only difference between these and the Second Class Sleepers is two less bunks up top. Single people paying the First Class fare will be placed amongst four other passengers. However, if a couple is traveling together, there are a limited number of what are called “Coupes” that have only one couch by day and two beds at night, one of which folds down from the wall above the couch. There is no difference in price for couples to book a coupe, so it’s a good deal.

Finally, for single travelers who desire private accommodations, it is possible to book an entire coupe to yourself by paying twice the First Class fare or buying both beds, as it were. Given the current exchange rate of the U.S. Dollar versus the South African Rand, I found that buying an entire coupe for my journey was surprisingly affordable. I paid approximately $70.00 for the thirteen hour overnight run to Jo’Burg, then another $110.00 for the twenty one hour trip down to Port Elizabeth.

The Durban Railway Station is a large uninspired structure that also serves as the city’s main long distance bus terminal. Although I didn’t see the bus terminal, it had to have been brighter and more cheerful than the railway station. Concrete and shadows would accurately describe the gloomy ambience of this railway station though as I entered I immediately appreciated the cooler temperatures within its shadows.

My first stop was the ticket office. This nicely lit and air conditioned room was entered via sliding glass doors, guarded by the ever present security guard. I was directed to place my big backpack against the wall and take a seat in line. That’s right. Take a seat in line. There were three rows of chairs, perhaps six seats across. I took a seat at the end of the second row. There were ten or eleven people in front of me. As a ticket agent would finish with who ever was in front of him and the next person or persons would get up to approach the counter, their empty seats would be immediately filled by the people who were sat in line behind them. This went on throughout the line. In this way, I sat in most all of the seats in rows one and two before finally making my way up to the ticket window. As opposed to standing, this was the most comfortable line I have ever sat in.

Thankfully, there were no problems with my reservation and I had tickets in hand after only a couple of minutes. Afterwards, I ventured out into the dark corridors of the station to find a café in which to while away the next two hours until train time. A wooden sign emblazoned with the Coca Cola logo and an arrow indicated a Take Away place that at least sold soft drinks so I headed down that way until I noticed three things: One – I didn’t see any activity or lights down there, two – a sign indicated that the Metro trains departed from down that way, and three – the whole area was very poorly lit and I appeared to be the only one in the area.

If you’re looking for trouble, Durban’s Metro trains are a great place to find it. Muggings and armed robberies aboard the metro trains are not at all uncommon and visitors are uniformly warned to avoid these trains at all costs. Common sense suggested that wandering down dark, poorly lit and possibly deserted corridors that led in the general direction of the aforementioned Metro Trains probably wasn’t a very wise course of action either. I turned around and headed back toward the ticket office.

Just up from the ticket office was a small food store offering essentially drinks and snack items. I bought a big bottle of water, a bag of peanuts and the evening edition of the Durban Daily News. The National Elections were held today and there was some concern of violence in KZN province (KwaZulu Natal), a stronghold for the IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party), the principal competitor to the ruling ANC (African National Congress) in this part of the country. In my wanderings about the city earlier today, I thought everything seemed pretty normal and based upon the news coverage, it was.

About all that can be said for the Durban Railway Station’s waiting room is that it is a room to wait in. Oh yes, it’s also air conditioned. Other than that, there are no chairs – just cement walls, a cement floor and doors. The doors leading in from the main station are watched by security guards (or at least there’s a security guard hanging around in the vicinity of the door) while the doors leading out to the trains are manned by railway employees. I took a seat on the floor and read my paper. Beside me, two African men, dressed in clothing that looked distinctly North African, sat amidst many bags and boxes. Across the way, an Indian family waited with only slightly less baggage. Where are these folks going to put all that luggage if they aren’t checking it? A few minutes later, the North African men laid out their prayer rugs and, presumably facing Mecca, engaged in a bit of prayer. I prayed that their prayers were not borne of past experience on this train.