Northbound Rovos Rail: Cape Town TO Pretoria Prices & Availability

• Luxury Train tip: Also check Rovos Rail Pretoria to Cape Town departures (this journey is usually immediately before the Cape Town to Pretoria leg).

• The longer you take to book the greater the chance of train fares changing. Email us to secure your fare.

Map of Train route from Cape Town to Pretoria

Ask us to package in a Cape Town hiking experience before you embark on your train trip, customised to your ability.

Cape Town to Pretoria journey arrival and departure times.

Current Times 2025

• Depart 16:00 - Arrive 10:00 (16 Jun, 30 Jun, 14 Jul)
• Depart 16:00 - Arrive 16:00 (4 Aug, 11 Aug, 8 Sep, 12 Sep, 15 Sep, 29 Sep, 6 Oct, 10 Oct, 27 Oct, 3 Nov, 10 Nov, 20 Dec)
  

New Times 2025# + New 2026 onwards

• Depart 11:00 - Arrive 16:00 (#2025: 29 Jul, 26 Aug, 28 Oct, 25 Nov, 9 Dec, 27 Dec; all 2026 onwards)

Getting on in Cape Town

Enter Rovos Rail Tours' offices at Number 1 Adderley Street Paul Sauer Building and check in. They'll often have classical live music playing to entertain, and always a glass of bubble to be enjoyed whilst staff whisk your bags off to the train and your carry-on luggage is tagged so that it knows who it belongs to. Get the paperwork done. Often a member of the Vos family will be on hand to welcome you.

• Cape Town Office's phone number: +27 (0)21 421 4020/1
  

Then move across to the station to board the train.

Email "Rovos Rob" rob@southafrica.to; or WhatsApp anytime for anything.

Ask for Help on this page!

Sunset in the Karoo

On its way from Cape Town, the journey makes its way past De Grendel station, Bellville station, Avondale station and then over the N1 national road at Paarl, the Slanghoek Valley, and then the train arrives in the Karoo. There are many special moments on board; one of them is watching the sun setting while transitting the ancient lands of the Karoo, and reflecting on a simpler lifestyle, still available to us in this modern world which has become so small.

If you enjoyed that music, here's an episode from that iconic South African series, "Transkaroo". The Trans Karoo Express travelled between Cape Town and Johannesburg. The service was run by Spoornet, the national railway company. It followed a similar route to Rovos Rail and the Blue Train (it used Johannesburg instead of Pretoria as its Gauteng station), but carried passengers in first, second and third class. The Trans Karoo Express later became part of a PRASA division called Shosholoza Meyl. Today the term "Trans Karoo" is colloquially used to refer to the Gauteng - Cape Town service.

Enjoy the stop at Matjiesfontein, a historic Victorian village in the Karoo region, where luxury trains like the Blue Train and Rovos Rail often stop, with the arid landscape, distant mountains and colonial-era buildings (such as the Lord Milner Hotel).

Leaving Matjiesfontein, pass Laingsburg and Geelbek railway bridge over the Buffels River (fortified during the Anglo-Boer war with a blockhouse to protect against Boer commandos wanting to blow up the bridge or attack trains); and then pass places you never knew existed like Vleifontein (meaning "marsh fountain" in Afrikaans; suggesting the presence of a water source that would have been critical to its original function) train station - an abandoned railway station in the central Karoo, now only used by trainspotters. In the age of steam locomotives, the Karoo presented a major challenge: long distances with very little water. To overcome this, the Cape Government Railways built a network of stations and sidings at regular intervals. Vleifontein was one such crucial point. Its primary functions were:

1. Water Stop: Its most important role was to replenish the water tanks of steam locomotives.
2. Crossing Loop: The Cape Main Line was (and in many sections, still is) a single-track railway. A "siding" or "crossing loop" like Vleifontein was essential to allow trains travelling in opposite directions to pass each other. One train reversal would pull into the siding loop, allowing the other to proceed on the main line.
3. Local Freight: The station served the local sheep farming community. It would have been a place for farmers to load livestock (sheep and goats) and wool onto freight wagons destined for the ports or major cities.
4. Community Hub: For the few railway workers and their families stationed there, the station was their entire world - a tiny, isolated community in the middle of nowhere.

Vleifontein is now a "ghost station," a silent witness to a bygone era of bustling activity, the hiss of steam, and the whistles of approaching trains.

The primary driver for the railway's construction through the Karoo was to connect the Cape Colony's ports with the newly discovered diamond fields at Kimberley. The section of the line that passes through Vleifontein, connecting Beaufort West to what would become the major junction of De Aar, was completed and opened in March 1884. The line reached Kimberley later that same year.

After Vleifontein, the train passes Ruiterskop, Wyke, Koup and Gemsbok.

Crossing the Orange River

The train crosses the Orange River, South Africa’s longest river, near the aptly named "Hopetown". The crossing usually happens during daylight hours, but it’s worth checking with the staff to be sure. The best place to be is in the Observation Car; standing on the open-air balcony, and feeling the warm Karoo air. Often, passengers will gather with a glass of champagne in hand, toasting the moment. It's a perfect photo opportunity.

After hours of traversing the vast, semi-arid Karoo, a shimmering, broad ribbon of water appears in the distance, bordered by an unexpectedly lush, verdant belt of trees. As the train nears the long, steel-truss bridge, it slows. The moment the carriages shift from solid ground to the bridge, the familiar clickety-clack transforms into a deeper, hollow, resonant rumble as the wheels roll over the steel framework. A subtle vibration hums through the carriage floor, a testament to the bridge’s dynamic response to the moving weight, engineered to flex just enough to ensure safety. This resonant crossing signals you’re suspended over something vast and significant, supported by a structure designed to endure.

 

Kimberley stop

After crossing the Orange river, the journey continues north to Kimberley, where guests disembark for a tour of the Big Hole and the Diamond Mine Museum.

Getting off at at Kookrus Station in Meyerton

Rovos are usually offering the option of getting off at Kookrus Station in Meyerton for the Cape Town to Pretoria train trips:

"We are not yet able to confirm that the train will travel to Capital Park. As this is the final part of the journey (Germiston - Capital Park), there are greater chances of delays (we strongly advise against booking any flights on the day of arrival), which has a knock-on effect to us using the allocated timeslot given for the Germiston line. Our team are working on the parameters and our running times. For now, all communications on the northbound leg stay as is with disembarkation at Kookrus. Estimated Arrival Time at Kookrus Station: 10:00 Directions. Further to the above, we kindly ask that you confirm the name and contact details for the transfer company, driver or family that will meet you/your clients on arrival. Should your clients wish to continue to travel to our Rovos Rail Station in Capital Park Pretoria an optional complimentary luxury-coach transfer from Kookrus Station to Rovos Rail Station in Pretoria (±90 minutes) is available. Please ask your Rovos Rail Consultant or Travel Agent to book accordingly.

If you've booked a hotel in Pretoria, it's usually fine to stay on the train until Pretoria, as the only repercussion of being late to Pretoria is getting to your hotel later than you expected; if your transfer to the hotel is flexible.

Pretoria stop

The Rovos Rail Capital Park Station in Pretoria is your final destination.

For passengers travelling onwards to Rovos Rail Station, enjoy an optional guided tour of the property to show you the nuts and bolts of the company. Rail enthusiasts will be drawn to the vast carriage and locomotive sheds where teams of dedicated personnel keep the rolling stock in perfect order. Of special interest is our ever-expanding railway museum showing a historical collection of train paraphernalia. Should anyone wish to join the tour (±30 minutes) and visit the museum (±30 minutes), please ensure that the transfer company or driver collecting you/your clients has been informed.

Rovos Rail vs Blue Train Itinerary

When choosing between South Africa's premier luxury trains, the itinerary differences are a key factor. Rovos Rail takes a more leisurely pace - typically over three nights - and includes scheduled off-train excursions at both the historic village of Matjiesfontein and the Kimberley Diamond Mine Museum (the Big Hole) on its northbound journey.

In contrast, the Blue Train offers a slightly faster two-night journey. For the northbound route from Cape Town to Pretoria, the Blue Train only stops for an off-train excursion at Matjiesfontein. If you wish to visit Kimberley on the Blue Train, you would need to travel on the southbound route. You can read more and check availability for the Blue Train Cape Town to Pretoria journey to compare your options.

Recommended reading

Bruce Smith's "The Answers lie in Africa"; the front cover photo was snapped by Bruce from a Rovos Rail train whilst it was passing through the Karoo; and the back cover photo was shot in Matjiesfontein (a stop on the train journey from Cape Town to Pretoria), at The Lord Milner Hotel.

Since you have made it this far

Well done on reading to the bottom of the page! As a little reward, if you book a Rovos Rail Cape Town journey, you are welcome to accompany the owner of SA Travel Online on a hike on Table Mountain when you are in Cape Town (calendars and weather permitting). Just take a screenshot of this text and send it along with your reservation emails to rob@southafrica.to

Railway stations from Cape Town to Pretoria

This list includes all train stations passed by the Rovos Rail on its 1,600 km journey from Cape Town to Pretoria. Most stations are passed without stopping.

Section 1: Cape Town to Worcester

• Cape Town Station (Departure)
• Ysterplaat
• Kensington
• Windermere
• Goodwood
• Vasco
• Elsiesrivier
• Parow
• Tygerberg
• Bellville (Major junction)
• Stikland
• Brackenfell
• Kraaifontein (Junction)
• Klapmuts
• Muldersvlei
• Simondium (siding)
• Paarl
• Huguenot
• Wellington
• Hermon
• Gouda
• Saron (siding)
• Tulbagh Road
• Wolseley
• Romansrivier (siding)
• Michell’s Pass (siding)

The Hex River Pass (Climbing to the Karoo)

This section contains many short sidings and loops for trains to pass each other on the steep gradient.

• De Doorns became one of the busiest sidings in the country for its size during the grape industry's fruit season, with huge volumes of refrigerated wagons being loaded with grapes for export through the Port of Cape Town.
• Sandhills' s name reflects the sandy terrain of the region, which posed challenges during the original railway construction.
• Orchard is named for the abundance of fruit orchards in the surrounding area. Situated on one of the line's "S" curves, makes Orchard a favourite spot for railway photographers who wanted to capture the classic snaking image of a long train snaking its way up or down the pass.
• Hex River marks the point from which the gradient becomes particularly severe towards the summit.
• Osplaas translates from Afrikaans as "Ox Farm", a reference to the pre-railway era when ox-wagons were the primary means of transport; this spot on the mountain was a traditional resting point for the oxen.When the Hex River tunnels were completed in 1989, Osplaas became part of the new, more direct route, bypassing the old, winding pass.
• Tunnel is named for the 180m tunnel located right next to it, completed in 1877, it holds the distinction of being the first railway tunnel built in South Africa..
• Matroosberg is named after the nearby Matroosberg mountain, the highest peak in the Boland. The station is close to the eastern portal of the Hex River Tunnel and marks the transition from the mountainous terrain to the open Karoo.
• Touws River is a historic railway town at the top of the pass.

Section 3: The Great Karoo

• Kruidfontein means "Herb Spring," likely named for the aromatic shrubs growing near the water source that was vital for the first steam locomotives.
• Constable is a "ghost siding" which existed purely for railway operational needs - a crossing loop on a long single-track section to allow trains to pass each other in the vast emptiness.
• Luttig is named after Pieter Luttig, a local farmer on whose land this part of the railway was built.
• Matjiesfontein (First Scheduled Excursion Stop) was founded by a railwayman, James Logan, who turned a small refreshment stop into a world-famous health resort.
• Whitehill is named for a nearby hill of white quartz, it marks the top of a gruelling climb for steam locomotives from the Hex River Valley.
• Laingsburg's original station was washed away in the catastrophic 1981 flood; and later rebuilt on higher ground.
• Dwyka's railway cuttings provide one of the clearest exposures of the "Dwyka Tillite," rock that proves a massive ice age covered Southern Africa 300 million years ago.
• Vleifonteins
• Prince Albert Road. The station is 45km away from Prince Albert; and was the "railhead" where passengers and mail transferred from the train to a mail coach to complete the journey to the isolated town.
• Koup is named after the ecological region of the Karoo it sits in; the name is of Khoi origin, describing the area's unique, brackish vegetation.
• Grootfontein translates from Afrikaans to "Big Spring"; this siding was a premier water stop as a result of its powerful and reliable spring's ability to satisfy the thirstiest steam engines.
• Beaufort West is the largest town in the Great Karoo and in the age of steam it was home to a massive steam locomotive depot used to service the powerful engines needed for the journey.

Section 4: The Upper Karoo

The train leaves the Western Cape Province: and enters the Northern Cape Province:

• Nelspoort was once known for its Nelspoort Sanatorium, bringing tuberculosis patients by train to the Karoo's dry air.
• Kromrivier marks the steep Kromrivier Pass.
• Merriman is named after John Merriman, the last Prime Minister of the Cape Colony before the Union of South Africa was formed.
• Hutchinson is a junction for the now-closed branch line to Victoria West, built because the main line bypassed the town.
• Victoria West Road is a classic "road" station, built on the main line far from the town of Victoria West it was meant to serve.
• Richmond Road is another classic road station, built on the main line a significant distance away from the town of Richmond it was meant to serve.
• Deelfontein was the site of a British military field hospital during the Anglo-Boer War, supplied by the railway.
• Mynfontein translates to "Mine Fountain" revealing its crucial original purpose to supply water for steam locomotives in the arid Karoo.
• De Aar was South Africa's most important railway junction; where the main lines from Cape Town, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Namibia all converge.

• Potfontein is a minor siding with its name ("fountain") denoting its original purpose as an essential watering stop for steam locomotives.
• Poupan served as a crossing loop, allowing trains to pass each other on the long single-track main line.
• Oranjerivier (Orange River crossing) is the site of a railway bridge, which became the launchpad for the British invasion of the Orange Free State in 1900.
• Belmont was the site of the Battle of Belmont (1899), the first major action in the British campaign to relieve Kimberley.
• Graspan formed the British axis of advance during the Battle of Graspan, where a Naval Brigade famously stormed the Boer positions.
• Modderrivier was the site of a famous Anglo-Boer War battle; ts original railway bridge was destroyed by Boer commandos, and the station buildings were used as a field hospital during the bloody battle here.
• Heuningneskloof is a remote siding whose main function was to break up the long distance between major stations for operational purposes and train control.
• Beaconsfield was a key suburban station for Kimberley, serving the adjacent Du Toit's Pan and De Beers diamond mines.
• Kimberley (Second Scheduled Excursion Stop) was the original destination of the main line from the Cape, built to serve the diamond rush. The Siege of Kimberley made its railway a key strategic objective of the Anglo-Boer War.

Section 5: From Diamonds to Goldfields

Provinces: North West & Free State Border

• Spytfontein means "Regret Fountain," and it marks the site of a key Boer War battle in 1899 where the British advance on Kimberley was halted during "Black Week"; it is a junction in the Northern Cape, where the main lines from Kimberley diverge towards De Aar and Mafikeng.
• Riverton was a popular Victorian-era pleasure resort on the Vaal River, with visitors arriving by train for boating and recreation; n the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Windsorton Road was built several kilometres away from the actual diamond-rush town of Windsorton, which it was intended to serve.
• Warrenton (Vaal River crossing) Its strategic railway bridge over the Vaal River was destroyed by retreating Boer commandos and subsequently rebuilt by British Royal Engineers during the Second Boer War.
• Fourteen Streams is named for the complex network of channels and islands where the Vaal River widens, creating the illusion of fourteen separate streams.
• Windsorton was once a bustling hub of the 1869 alluvial diamond rush, one of the earliest diamond-digging towns established on the Vaal River.
• Christiana was named after Christiana Pretorius, the only daughter of Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, the first president of the South African Republic.
• Bloemhof was the site of one of the largest and most notorious British concentration camps.
• Koppies was the scene of a significant Second Boer War battle where General Christiaan de Wet’s commandos successfully attacked the British-held railway line.
• Edenville lies on a now-disused railway branch line built specifically to connect the region's prosperous maize farmers to the main network at Kroonstad.
• Steynsrus is named in honour of Marthinus Theunis Steyn, the last president of the Orange Free State, as it was founded on one of his favourite resting farms.
• Kroonstad served as the capital of the Orange Free State after the British captured Bloemfontein; for two months from 13 March to 11 May 1900.
• Viljoensdrif marks the first major discovery of coal in the Orange Free State in 1887, a finding that spurred the extension of the railway line north from the Cape and fueled the Witwatersrand's gold mines.

Free State / Gauteng (Vaal Triangle)

• Sasolburg
• Zamdela
• Leeuhof
• Vereeniging
• Kookrus
• Meyerton
• Henley-on-Klip
• Daleside
• Randvaal
• Kliprivier

Gauteng

• Katlehong
• Germiston
• Johannesburg Park Station
• Kempton Park
• Centurion (Verwoerdburg)

Final Arrival

• Rovos Rail Station, Capital Park, Pretoria (Final Destination)

Note: The Rovos Rail only stops at Matjiesfontein, Kimberley, and Rovos Rail Pretoria Station for scheduled excursions. Other stations are passed without stopping unless operational changes occur (e.g., delays or line closures).

Royal suite from Cape Town to Pretoria

The most luxurious suite on the world's most luxurious train will ruin rail travel for you forever! The en-suite is unlike anything you have seen on a train before - you will have a bath in your suite on a train! (and a shower if that's what you prefer - we recommend the bath) At just over 60 square metres, it is HUGE. It can be set up in either a king bed setting or as a twin. There are comfortable armchairs and a desk. Usually you'll have an info book with a list of the names of all the passengers. There's a bar fridge in your suite, and you can request that it be filled (for free!) with the beverages of your choice.

There are 3 clips you can mark your door with to signal to the staff:

• "Do not disturb"
• "Make-up room"
• "Room service:"

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