Hex River Tunnels

Hex River rail pass
Western approach to tunnel no. 4, at 13.5 kilometres (8.4 miles) the longest rail tunnel in Africa until 2009.
Route map
from Cape Town
 De Doorns
Hex River Tunnel 1 (483 m)
Almeria
from 1989
Hex River Tunnel 2 (1100 m)
Osplaas
1878–1989
1878–1921 Tunnel, 1921–1989 Tunnel
Hex River Tunnel 3 (1200 m)
 Tunnel
1921–1989
 Salbar
from 1989
Hex River Tunnel 4 (13500 m)
 Matroosberg
1931–1989
 Hexton
from 1989
Left: 1931–1989
Right: 1878–1989
Kleinstraat
to Johannesburg

The four Hex River Tunnels consist of a twin tunnel of 500 m (0.31 mi) and three single tunnels of 1.1 km (0.68 mi), 1.2 km (0.75 mi) and 13.5 km (8.39 mi), on the Hexton railway route between De Doorns and Kleinstraat through the Hex River Mountains of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The line, which connects De Doorns in the Hex River valley with Touws River in the Great Karoo, is part of the main rail route between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Of the 30 kilometres (18.64 miles) of track, 16.8 kilometres (10.44 miles) are underground. Construction of the line eliminated the bottleneck of the Hex River rail pass.

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