Thembisa to Emalahleni runs about 3 times a day, with the first departure around 06:46 and the last around 07:30. One passenger pays between €10.07 and €16.84, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 1h 37m over 117 km, on services run by 2 operators across 2 modes.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 2 operators and 2 ways of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares
€10.07 to €16.84
- 66%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Thembisa
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:46First departure
- 07:30Last departure
- 3Services per day
- 33%Run direct
Shosholoza Meyl runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Thembisa to Emalahleni on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Thembisa to Emalahleni on Bookaway
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
TransMagnific runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Thembisa to Emalahleni on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Thembisa to Emalahleni on Bookaway
Or compare on 12GoOr compare on Intercape
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €16.13Wed16
- about €17.78Thu17
- about €16.68Fri18
- about €12.83Sat19
- about €15.03Sun20
- about €12.28Mon21
- about €12.83Tue22
- about €11.18Wed23
- about €11.73Thu24
- about €12.83Fri25
- about €12.28Sat26
- about €11.18Sun27
- about €11.73Mon28
- about €10.63Tue29
- about €10.08Wed30
- about €11.18Thu1
- about €10.08Fri2
- about €10.08Sat3
- about €10.08Sun4
- about €10.07Mon5
- about €10.07Tue6
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The train gets you into Emalahleni. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Emalahleni for the night the train gets in
The search opens on Emalahleni with your nights already filled in, so it is one step to a real price.
Search Emalahleni on Booking.com
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Thembisa to Emalahleni
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €10.0890 days
- €10.0760 days
- €10.0745 days
- €10.0730 days
- €10.0721 days
- €10.6314 days
- €12.837 days
- €16.683 days
- €16.131 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €10.07.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 66 percent. The dearest point is €16.68, 3 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 21 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Thembisa to Emalahleni and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
117 km
102 km as the crow flies, 15% further by the route services actually take. The bearing runs east.
Who lives at each end
511,655 → 373,403
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
0/4
4 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 40% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 60% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 117 km against 102 km in a straight line, a detour of 15 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at eMbalenhle, Nigel, Soshanguve. The gap between arriving and leaving is 46 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 20 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is ours to fix and you are rebooked at no charge.
Who runs this route
The train gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Where to leave your bags in Emalahleni
Shops, cafes and hotels that take luggage, with the opening hours on the map so you know what is still open when you come back.
Check Emalahleni on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Thembisa to Emalahleni
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Thembisa to Emalahleni?
The fastest journey from Thembisa to Emalahleni takes 1h 37m door to door, of which 54m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 2h 3m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Thembisa to Emalahleni?
The cheapest fare from Thembisa to Emalahleni is €10.07, as of 15 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €16.41. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Thembisa to Emalahleni?
The cheapest way from Thembisa to Emalahleni is by coach, at €10.63 for one passenger on 5 October 2026. That journey takes 2h 25m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
What is the fastest way to get from Thembisa to Emalahleni?
The fastest way from Thembisa to Emalahleni is by train, at 1h 38m door to door. Only 54m of that is spent moving; the remaining 44m is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. The cheapest fare on that mode is €16.84.
When should I book Thembisa to Emalahleni?
Fares from Thembisa to Emalahleni bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €10.07. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 66 percent, measured on 15 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Thembisa to Emalahleni?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Thembisa to Emalahleni, at €10.63. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 15 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Thembisa to Emalahleni?
October is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Thembisa to Emalahleni, at €10.07 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Thembisa to Emalahleni?
2 operators sell services from Thembisa to Emalahleni across 2 modes: Shosholoza Meyl, TransMagnific. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Thembisa to Emalahleni?
40 percent of the services we sell from Thembisa to Emalahleni are direct. The rest connect at eMbalenhle, Nigel, Soshanguve, with about 46 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
How much CO2 does the journey from Thembisa to Emalahleni produce?
Travelling from Thembisa to Emalahleni by coach produces about 3.2 kg of CO2 per passenger, the lowest of any mode on this corridor. The same journey by Train produces about 3.9 kg, roughly 1 times as much for one passenger.
Which station or terminal do services from Thembisa to Emalahleni use?
Services from Thembisa to Emalahleni by train leave from Leralla and arrive at Emalahleni station. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Thembisa to Emalahleni?
2 of the 2 operators we sell from Thembisa to Emalahleni allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Thembisa to Emalahleni on 15 September 2026: 117 km of route against 102 km in a straight line, 5 services a day, 2 operators a cheapest fare of €10.07, and 1h 37m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
The train is the simple part. What you do once you are in Emalahleni is somebody else's catalogue.
Day trips out of Emalahleni and across South Africa
Day trips that leave Emalahleni in the morning and cover a good part of South Africa by evening.
See Emalahleni on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Thembisa reaches 6 places in 1 countries on services we hold, over distances from 54 to 264 km. Emalahleni reaches 18 places in 1 countries, from 75 to 220 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Thembisa
- 6Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 2Operators
Arriving in Emalahleni
Leaving Emalahleni
- 18Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 2Operators