The Passenger Rail Authority of South Africa (PRASA) believes it will take another 14 months to get Metrorail’s Central Line up to standard.
This comes as the passenger rail service continued to lose millions of rands in income from train rides.
PRASA Group CEO Zolani Matthews told the Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Public Works & Infrastructure on Wednesday that a full operational service on the line with signalling would be achieved by December 2022 and without signalling by July 2022.
However, the projected timelines were dependent on the removal of the people who had occupied the rail lines in Langa and Philippi, the committee heard.
Matthews said a limited service on the Cape Town to Nyanga and Bellville lines would be introduced in December if the land occupiers in Langa were removed by the end of the month.
The entire Central line would operate with 33 train sets with 232 trip per day at a frequency of between 10-15 minutes during peak period and 30 minutes off-peak, he added.
The Central lines covers Kapteinsklip, Khayelitsha, Chris Hani and Philippi.
Last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that government was investing R1.4 billion to fix the Central Line which transported tens of thousands of commuters daily.
The Metrorail service has been paralysed for almost two years due to the breakdown of infrastructure, cable theft and arson attacks on trains.
Matthews said work was being done on restoring the signalling system, upgrading substations which were prone to vandalism and ensuring that the equipment was "vandal proof"."
“We want to ensure that we building a rail system which will be world-class and bench-marked with those operating in countries such as France and Germany," said Matthews.
On the Cape Town to Simonstown line via Wynberg, currently operational on a limited service, work was underway to upgrade electrical substations with focus on safety measures, and the refurbishment of perways.
He added that telecoms system was also being installed
Matthews said similar work was being carried out on the Cape Town - Simonstown via Athlone line with further rehabilitation of Maitland signalling equipment, and installation of concrete universal sleepers in Maitland, Ndabeni and Hazendal.
"We are not only rebuilding but also conducting ongoing maintenance of rail tracks," said Matthews.
The projected completion dates for most of the projects was March 2022.
Matthews added that tenders were advertised for repair works on some train stations, the modernisation of the Paarden Eiland depot and the walling project along the rail tracks.
The committee was also told that the Chairperson of the Board, Leonard Ramatlakane was scheduled to meet Mayor Dan Plato on Thursday to fast-track the removal of the informal settlements.
"The issue is about the land. We are looking at some solutions - there's been land a portion of land made available to resolve the Langa occupation but property owners close there want to be reassured that proper structures will be built.
"Regarding the Philippi group we are in engagements with the City regarding a possible swap of pieces of land," Ramatlakane said