[Re]connected and on track integrating the Nelson Mandela Bay commuter rail line with the Swartkops area through a re-imagined future
type: CreativeWork
description: South Africa remains shaped largely by its apartheid past and its associated Modernist planning practices. This has left South African cities as fragmented, disconnected, and inequitable spaces, especially for those who still directly feel the effects of exclusionary planning practices.The commuter rail line in Nelson Mandela Bay, running between Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) and Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) is an example of a public transport system that has failed to adapt to changes in where and how people live and move. As such, it is characterised by low frequency, low usage, inaccessible and outdated stations, and antiquated infrastructure. The line is the least used of all the Metrorail systems in South Africa by a large margin, and as such there has been a reluctance to invest into improving the existing system. Many of the stations are far removed from where the majority of the people live, particularly in the township areas of Gqeberha - the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the metro.The line itself runs, for a large portion of its length, along the Swartkops Estuary and river, a partially protected conservation area. Various plans to improve the line have been proposed, but numerous factors have led to these not being implemented. A long-term plan has involved the so-called Motherwell Loop, which aims to connect the far-removed township of Motherwell into the existing rail system. This project looks at how the line can be reimagined: not just as an infrastructural project - but as an integrated system that adds to the urban life in the metro, and creates a spatially just urban environment. This is done specifically through re-imagining the railway line by rerouting the commuter line to include the township of Motherwell, and by re-imagining the rest of the line as a corridor that connects people to the Swartkops natural system, to allow for social justice in terms of access to the city and to the natural environment.The focus area in this re-…
abstract: South Africa remains shaped largely by its apartheid past and its associated Modernist planning practices. This has left South African cities as fragmented, disconnected, and inequitable spaces, especially for those who still directly feel the effects of exclusionary planning practices.The commuter rail line in Nelson Mandela Bay, running between Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) and Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) is an example of a public transport system that has failed to adapt to changes in where and how people live and move. As such, it is characterised by low frequency, low usage, inaccessible and outdated stations, and antiquated infrastructure. The line is the least used of all the Metrorail systems in South Africa by a large margin, and as such there has been a reluctance to invest into improving the existing system. Many of the stations are far removed from where the majority of the people live, particularly in the township areas of Gqeberha - the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the metro.The line itself runs, for a large portion of its length, along the Swartkops Estuary and river, a partially protected conservation area. Various plans to improve the line have been proposed, but numerous factors have led to these not being implemented. A long-term plan has involved the so-called Motherwell Loop, which aims to connect the far-removed township of Motherwell into the existing rail system. This project looks at how the line can be reimagined: not just as an infrastructural project - but as an integrated system that adds to the urban life in the metro, and creates a spatially just urban environment. This is done specifically through re-imagining the railway line by rerouting the commuter line to include the township of Motherwell, and by re-imagining the rest of the line as a corridor that connects people to the Swartkops natural system, to allow for social justice in terms of access to the city and to the natural environment.The focus area in this re-…
author: Hill, Robert
language: en
keywords: Integration, Railway, Connection, Spatial Justice, Urban Fabric, Revitalisation, Transportation corridors
date published: 2025
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:24Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42015