Cedara Tunnel
| Cedara twin tunnel | |
|---|---|
The entrance to one of the Cedara Twin Tunnels. Image of the one of the north portals. | |
Interactive map of Cedara twin tunnel | |
| Overview | |
| Start | Cedara, Howick (29°32′07″S 30°16′22″E / 29.535174°S 30.272902°E) |
| End | Winterskloof, Hilton (29°32′07″S 30°18′15″E / 29.535174°S 30.304281°E) |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | 1955 |
| Opened | March 28, 1960 |
| Owner | Transnet |
| Technical | |
| Length | 6.04 km |
| Grade | 1 in 50 |
The Cedara Tunnel or Cedara twin tunnel [1] is a 3.75 miles (6.04 km) long tunnel and was the longest railway tunnel in South Africa for 29 years, until the Hex River Tunnel was completed in 1989 (13.5 km (8.39 miles) long).
The Cedara Tunnel was formally opened on 28 March 1960 [2] and replaced the existing single track on the old Natal Main Line (see Geographic data related to old Natal Main Line at OpenStreetMap), that ran through Boughton - Sweetwaters-Hilton as an open cutting.[3] These tunnels were constructed using conventional Drill and Blast methods with concrete linings.
This underground infrastructure connected the Durban-Cato Ridge-Pietermaritzbug stations with the twin railway lines running from Johannesburg. The Cedara twin tunnel was constructed on a gradient of I to 50 and it shortened the existing track length by 6.8 km.[4] The Cedara Twin Tunnels ( which replaced the older single track appears to currently be in use. [5]
Today,South Africa's longest rail tunnel (approximately 15 km) is in Johannesburg, forming part of the Gautrain Rapid Rail System.[6]
External Media
The Cedara tunnel on the NATCOR mainline between Johannesburg and Durban. on YouTube
References
- ^ MattaI, H (1961). "THE CONSTRUCTION METHODS USED ON THE TWIN RAILWAY TUNNELS NEAR PIETERMARITZBURG". Die Siviele Ingenieur in Suid:Afrika.
- ^ Schmidt, N.F.B. (1961). "THE CONSTRUCTION METHODS USED ON THE TWIN RAILWAY TUNNELS NEAR PIETERMARITZBURG". South African Institution of Civil Engineering: 99–113.
- ^ Forum, Midlands Conservancies (20 July 2012). "Winterskloof Railway Tracks". Midlands Conservancies Forum. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ Heinie Heydenrych, Bruno Martin (1992), The Natal Main Line Story, HSRC Publishers, p. 131, ISBN 978-0-7969-1151-3
- ^ Thako, Luba Jean-Pierre (2019). Railway Tunnels Management System in South Africa –Concrete Structural Elements (Thesis). hdl:11427/31283.
- ^ Atqnews (29 January 2025). "News: Gautrain's $3.6 Billion High-Speed Rail Connects Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Sandton with Africa's Longest Underground Tunnel". ATQ News. Retrieved 29 December 2025.