Africa Cup of Nations South Africa - As part of efforts to fill the five stadia to be used for the 29th Africa Cup of Nations due to start in South Africa on Saturday, there will be free transport for fans during the 29 Jan-10 Feb. tournament.
The free transportation was made possible with an agreement between the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) as well as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the tournament, tagged, SOUTH AFRICA 2013.
According to the organisers, the transport agreement is for the provision of free train services within metropolitan cities in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal for fans with valid match tickets as well as journalists and other officials carrying accreditation from the Orange AFCON 2013 LOC.
In Gauteng, PRASA will make available 20 dedicated trains which will ferry passengers from Pretoria, Johannesburg, Soweto and Vereeniging to Nasrec Station. This service will be for the opening and the final match of the tournament.
For KwaZulu-Natal, soccer fans will have 26 dedicated trains transporting them from surrounding townships such as uMlazi and KwaMashu, directly to Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Each train has the capacity to carry up to 2000 passengers and the trains will move more than 40,000 soccer fans directly to the stadia.
Two long distance dedicated trains will be made available for fans travelling from Gauteng to Mbombela at a fee to be determined by PRASA. These shuttle services will run from 21 January to 6 February.
According to AFCON LOC Chief Executive Officer Mvuzo Mbebe, 'this milestone agreement with PRASA is a significant step in ensuring that we reach our goal of filling the stadia.'
CAF Scribe Hicham El Amrani said the Confederation is delighted with the free transportation plan, adding: 'With this public transport solution we can look forward to a marked in increase in the ticket sales'.
Pana 18/01/2013