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Rovos Rail

Private South African railway company

Field	Value
name	Rovos Rail
image	Rovos Rail Capital Park Station.jpg
caption	Train about to depart from Capital Park Station
nameforarea	route
regions	Cape Town to Dar es Salaam
Pretoria to Swakopmund
Pretoria to Cape Town
Pretoria to Durban
Pretoria to Victoria Falls
website

Pretoria to Swakopmund Pretoria to Cape Town Pretoria to Durban Pretoria to Victoria Falls

Rovos Rail is a private railway company operating out of Capital Park Station in Pretoria, South Africa.

Rovos Rail runs its train-hotel to a regular schedule on various routes throughout Southern Africa, from South Africa to Namibia and Tanzania. The trains consist of restored National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) coaches with two lounges, two restaurant cars, and private sleeping compartments, each with private ensuite facilities.

The train has three types of accommodation on board, the smallest being a Pullman, at 76 square feet; the largest being the Royal Suite, which is half a train car, and 172 square feet. All types of cabins have ensuite shower, sink, and toilet. The Royal Suite also has a Victorian-style bathtub.

The company was started in 1989 by Rohan Vos and is still family owned. Rovos Rail employs a staff of over 430, from the on-board staff to those working to restore carriages in the company's Capital Park depot.

Routes

Rovos Rail operates the following routes:

Cape Town Journey (3 Nights * 1600km) - Pretoria to Cape Town or vice versa
Durban Journey (2 Nights * 800km) - Pretoria to Durban or vice versa
Victoria Falls Journey (3/4 Nights * 1400km) - Pretoria to Victoria Falls or vice versa
Golf Safari Journey (9 Nights * 2100km)
Namibia Safari Journey (11 Nights * 3400km) - Pretoria to Walvis Bay or vice versa
African Collage Journey (12 Nights * 3700km) - Pretoria to Cape Town or vice versa
Southern Cross Journey (11 Nights * 2500km) - Pretoria to Victoria Falls or vice versa
African Trilogy Journey (15 Nights * 5000km) - Pretoria to Walvis Bay
Dar es Salaam Journey (15 Nights * 5530km) - Cape Town to Dar es Salaam or vice versa
Trail of Two Oceans (15 Nights * 4300km) - Dar es Salaam to Lobito or vice versa
Copper Trail (14 Nights * 3100km) - Victoria Falls to Lobito or vice versa

Steam locomotives

Rovos Rail owns 7 steam locomotives purchased between 1987 and 2007. The oldest steam locomotive was built by Dübs & Company in Glasgow in 1893. It is a Class 6 locomotive which Rovos Rail named 439 Tiffany (after the youngest daughter of Rohan Vos). The remaining locomotives are Class 19Ds and Class 25NCs built by Borsig Lokomotiv Werke, Henschel & Son and North British Locomotive Company. 2701 Brenda, 2702 Bianca and 3360 Shaun, named after the other three children, are Class 19D locomotives built during the 1930s. All three were saved from scrap metal dealers and, after extensive restoration, were put back into service in 1989. Locomotive 3484 Marjorie – named after Rohan's mother – is a Class 25NC locomotive built in 1954 by North British in Glasgow. Due to the difficulties in running steam over long distances the decision was made to convert this locomotive from a coal to a more efficient oil-fired engine. A further two Class 25NC locomotives have been restored and added to the fleet: 3442 Anthea, built in 1953 by Henschel & Son of Germany, is named after Rohan's wife; 3533 King Zog is named after Rohan's late Dalmatian.

Derailment

Main article: 2010 Pretoria train accident

A Rovos Rail train derailed on 21 April 2010 near Pretoria. Three people were killed and several passengers were injured. The owner of Rovos Rail said that the train's nineteen carriages were uncoupled from the locomotive during a changeover at Centurion Station when they freewheeled out of control, crashing back at Pretoria station. Approximately half of the 55 passengers were on board along with some of the thirty staff.

Gallery

Rovos Rail Dining Car.jpg|Dining Car Rovos Rail Deluxe Suite.jpg|Deluxe Suite Rovos Rail observation car type A-28 twin diner. (8668378643).jpg|Observation car Class 5E1 E1030 IDR.JPG|Number plate

References

"Rovos Rail - SA Travel Online".
"Rovos Rail Official Website".
(2017-04-28). "Rovos Rail: The most luxurious train in the world".
"Rovos Rail Journeys".
(2009). "A Twenty Year Journey: Rovos Rail".
Thom, Liezl. (2010-04-21). "Two dead in luxury train accident". Eyewitness News.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

international-named-passenger-trains railway-companies-of-south-africa companies-based-in-the-city-of-tshwane south-african-companies-established-in-1989 railway-companies-established-in-1989

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