Cheapest€128.49
- Shosholoza Meyl SM209906:309h 3m15:33Welkom stationPentech
Door to door 9h 47mCO2 39.0 kgChanges 0Refundable
Traveling from Welkom to Athlone costs €128.49 at the cheapest and takes 8h 43m door to door at the fastest, across 1 mode and 1 operator. The route covers 1,183 km. Cheapest is by train, fastest is by train.
At a glance
- Distance
- 1,183 km
- Fastest
- 8h 43m
- Average
- 9h 32m
- Services per day
- 5
- Cheapest
- €128.49
- CO2 per passenger
- 39.0 kg
Every way to make this journey
Journey times below are door to door, so they include getting to the terminal and away from it at the other end. Fares are the cheapest we currently sell on September 28, 2026.
| Mode | Door to door | Moving | At the ends | From | CO2 | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train | 9h 47m | 9h 3m | 44m | €151.59 | 39.0 kg | 5 |
- 9h 47mFastest, by Train
- €151.59Cheapest, by Train
- 39.0 kgLowest CO2, by Train
- 1,183 kmDistance traveled
The cheapest and the fastest on September 28, 2026
Two journeys we can sell today, with the service number each operator files them under.
Today's real departures
Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.
Checking the live timetables.
Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.
Prices over the next three weeks
Live from our own engine, refreshed on every request. The cheapest days for each way of traveling are marked.
| Cheapest fare by mode and day for Welkom to Athlone | SunSep 13 | MonSep 14 | TueSep 15 | WedSep 16 | ThuSep 17 | FriSep 18 | SatSep 19 | SunSep 20 | MonSep 21 | TueSep 22 | WedSep 23 | ThuSep 24 | FriSep 25 | SatSep 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train | €335.84 | €258.84 | €246.74 | €214.29 | €332.54 | €240.14 | €251.14 | €194.49 | €171.39 | €151.59 | €217.04 | €222.54 | €199.99 | €236.84 |
Cheapest day: 2026-09-28 · €128.49
The train gets you into Athlone. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
Where to stay in Athlone
Filter by neighborhood and by nightly price, and the map tells you what is a walk and what is a cab.
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 Welkom to Athlone
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €187.3490 days
- €125.7460 days
- €109.7945 days
- €107.0430 days
- €188.9921 days
- €236.8414 days
- €251.147 days
- €246.743 days
- €335.841 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 30 days ahead, at €107.04.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 214 percent. The most expensive point is €335.84, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 30 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 30 days ahead. You are inside that window.
Which departure day costs least
Median cheapest fare for each weekday, taken across the next three weeks of real prices.
- €194.49Sun
- €171.39Mon
- €151.59Tue
- €214.29Wed
- €222.54Thu
- €199.99Fri
- €236.84Sat
How the fare moves month by month
The same journey priced on the fifteenth of each of the next six months.
- €246.74Sep
- €158.19Oct
- €128.49Nov
- €130.14Dec
- €144.44Jan
- €104.84Feb
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
- 20% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 80% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 1,183 km against 1,029 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 Gqeberha, Kariega, Bloemfontein, Botshabelo. The gap between arriving and leaving is 49 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 19 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.
- First and last departure
- The first service of the day leaves Welkom at 06:30 and the last at 07:30, across 5 departures. The return direction keeps its own timetable, so the times back are not these times reversed.
Where you leave from and where you arrive
The stations, airports and ports each mode on this corridor actually uses.
Athlone
Rail
- Pentech
- Mandalay
- Stikland
Bus
- Mitchells Plain
Who runs this route
Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.
| Operator | From | Fastest | Typical speed | Flexibility | On board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shosholoza Meyl | €128.49 | 8h 43m | 140 km/h | Refundable | Power outlets, Wi-Fi |
What the fare is made of
Every part of the total, so the number at checkout is the number here.
| Part | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Operator fare | €115.00 | 90% |
| Taxes | €11.50 | 9% |
| Our service fee | €1.99 | 2% |
| Total you pay | €128.49 | 100% |
Check-in is at three and you will be in Athlone well before then. Lockers are not something we run.
Somewhere to drop the bags in Athlone?
Most of the points near Pentech open before the first train and close after the last one.
Check Athlone 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 Welkom to Athlone
The questions people actually ask about this trip, 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 Welkom to Athlone?
The fastest journey from Welkom to Athlone takes 8h 43m door to door, of which 9h 3m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 9h 32m, 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 Welkom to Athlone?
The cheapest fare from Welkom to Athlone is €128.49, checked on September 12, 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €222.54. 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 Welkom to Athlone?
The cheapest way from Welkom to Athlone is by train, at €151.59 for one passenger on September 28, 2026. That journey takes 9h 47m 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.
When should I book Welkom to Athlone?
Fares from Welkom to Athlone bottom out around 30 days before departure, at €107.04. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive lead time is 214 percent, measured on September 12, 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Welkom to Athlone?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Welkom to Athlone, at €151.59. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, checked on September 12, 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Welkom to Athlone?
February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Welkom to Athlone, at €104.84 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 service from Welkom to Athlone?
1 operators sell services from Welkom to Athlone across 1 mode: Shosholoza Meyl. 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 Welkom to Athlone?
20 percent of the services we sell from Welkom to Athlone are direct. The rest connect at Gqeberha, Kariega, Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, with about 49 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Welkom to Athlone use?
Services from Welkom to Athlone by train leave from Welkom station and arrive at Pentech. 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 Welkom to Athlone?
1 of the 1 operators we sell from Welkom to Athlone 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
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.
Schedules, seat counts and fares are generated by our own model until the supplier contracts are signed. Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance are real. We would rather say that on every page than let a modeled number pass for a filed one.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Welkom to Athlone on September 12, 2026: 1183 km of route against 1029 km in a straight line, 5 services a day, 1 operators, a cheapest fare of €128.49, and 8h 43m 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 Athlone is somebody else's catalog.
Things to do in Athlone
Day trips that leave Athlone in the morning and cover a good part of South Africa by evening.
See Athlone 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.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Welkom
Arriving in Athlone
Leaving Athlone
- 18Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 3Operators
Plan a trip from here
Ask Ori for the same corridor under a different constraint, or for a longer trip that starts on it.