Metrorail, Cape Town's commuter line, offers regular service to the Northern Suburbs, including Parow and Bellville; the Cape Flats townships Langa, Nyanga, Mitchell's Plain, and Khayelitsha; the Southern and False Bay suburbs of Observatory, Claremont, Wynberg, Muizenberg, St. James, Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek, and Simon's Town; and the Winelands towns of Paarl, Stellenbosch, and Franschoek. The trip to Simon's Town takes 45-60 minutes and costs about R25 for a first-class round-trip ticket, R15 for third class. On weekends several trains carry a popular breakfast car. The train to Khayelitsha costs less than R20 round-trip first class, and a third-class ticket is around half that. The last train leaves about 7 on weekdays, and weekend service is reduced. Timetables change often. If you travel on Metrorail during off-peak periods, avoid isolated cars and compartments, and be alert to your surroundings when the train is stopped. Muggers work trains intensively, slipping on and off with ease. Train security is at best erratic. You're safer standing in a cramped third-class car than sitting comfortably in splendid isolation in an empty first-class one, but watch your pockets.

National carrier Shosholoza Meyl runs the Trans-Karoo daily between Cape Town and Johannesburg; the trip takes about 26 hours and costs R500 first class, R335 second class, and R200 economy. First- and second-class cars have sleeping compartments. A weekly train to Durban, Trans-Oranjia, takes two days and costs R645 first class. You need to make first- and second-class reservations by phone (bookings open three months before date of travel) and then pay at the station in advance (not just before departure). For a third-class ticket you can pay just before you go. The reservations office is open 8-4 weekdays and 8-10 AM weekends. Transnet's Union Limited steam train and Shongololo Express's Southern Cross also run through the Karoo and the Garden Route to Johannesburg. The Southern Cross is a night ride, so forget about seeing the splendors of the Garden Route en route.

The luxurious and leisurely Blue Train has two main routes: Cape Town-Tshwane and Cape Town-Port Elizabeth. It costs around R15,000 one-way inclusive of meals and excursions and departs once or twice a week. (Less frequently, the Blue Train runs to Victoria Falls and Hoedspruit, near Kruger National Park.) The Rovos Rail Pride of Africa runs from Cape Town to Tshwane every Monday and costs R11,000 for the two-day trip in a deluxe suite, up to R15,000 for a royal suite, including excursions, meals, and drinks. The Spier Vintage Train occasionally steams its way to the Spier Estate, near Stellenbosch, costing R100 round-trip. The schedule changes monthly.