The Ceres Rail Company’s vintage steam train is set to resume services between Cape Town and Elgin on November 28 – after 20 months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trips will resume every Saturday and Sunday, where the train departs Harbour Bridge Hotel & Suites on Dockrail Road in Foreshore, Cape Town at 07h45 and makes a three-to-four-hour journey to the Elgin Railway Market through Sir Lowry’s Pass.

Passengers can then browse and enjoy the market, which offers live music, a play area for children, and a variety of stalls offering food, wine, cider, gin, bespoke crafts, jewellery, and a collection of art.

If passengers have a return ticket, they board the train again to leave the Overberg for Cape Town at 14h15, arriving home at approximately 18h00.

One-way tickets are R400 (€23) per adult and R250 (€14.50) per child aged 3–12. Lunch is an extra R50–R150 (€3–€8.50).

As for return tickets, day seating and bar lounge seating are R625 (€36) per person. The Family Coupe option is suited to private groups of three adults or two adults with two children, at R1 500 (€86.50) per unit.

The Family Compartment is slightly larger, accommodating six adults or four adults with two children, at R2 900 (€167) per unit. Finally, the Observation Car costs up to R850 (€49) per person for a group of 15–28 people.

The train does not currently have accessibility for prams or those in wheelchairs.

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