Port Shepstone railway station is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

located in

Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is positioned 120 km south of Durban. ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The station serves as both the southern terminus of Cape Gauge (3' 6"/1067mm) line from to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, as well as the southern coastal terminus of the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Alfred County Railway Alfred County Railway is an abandoned narrow gauge railway in South Africa, which runs from the southern transport hub of Port Shepstone on the Indian Ocean, via Izotsha and Paddock for to Harding, KwaZulu-Natal. Background South Africa, ri ...

Harding, KwaZulu-Natal Harding is a town situated in the Mzimkulwana River valley, Ugu District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Background Harding was established as a military outpost following the British annexation of East Griqualand in 1874. Named after ...

. Opened for operations in 1917, it also served the port facilities of the local docks. After the standard gauge

Transnet Transnet SOC Ltd is a large South African rail, port and pipeline company, headquartered in the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. It was formed as a limited company on 1 April 1990. A majority of the company's stock is owned by the Department ...

passenger services shut in 1986, the ACR continued operations until 2005, when the famous ''

Banana Express A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

'' ceased operation. Today, the station purely acts as turning/shunting point for the thrice-weekly

Transnet Freight Rail Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

traffic to Saiccor. As a result, the station still houses a diesel shunter. It also acts as the storage point for the unused carriages of the '' Blue Train,'' which have been vandalised through a lack of permanent staffing of the site. In May 2014, the KwaZulu-Natal government allocated R200 million for the refurbishment of the Port Shepstone railway.

References

Railway stations in South Africa Transport in KwaZulu-Natal Ugu District Municipality {{SouthAfrica-railstation-stub