There was a toilet at each end of the coach and a shower. The double compartments were the same size as those on standard South African inter-city trains that usually sleep four (and sometimes six), but on the Premier Classe contained only two bunk beds the single compartment was half this size with one bunk bed. The compartments themselves were immaculately fitted-out, with soft duvets and pillows, crisp white sheets, complimentary bottled water, fluffy towels and even robes and slip-slop sandals for going to the shower. However, we needn't have worried, because our three compartments were exactly as we'd requested. We had booked three compartments, two doubles and a single all next to each other, and we wondered whether Shosholoza Meyl would manage this complicated arrangement.
Charming hostesses served us tea and coffee until it was time to board the train. Our party of five met at the Premier Classe lounge alongside platform 24 at Cape Town station at about 2 PM on Friday, a typically hot and windy mid-summer afternoon.
If you enjoyed reading this, please send me an email. This story was printed in the April 2010 issue of 'On Track', a newsletter published by the Railway Society of Southern Africa (RSSA).
