Thousands of rail commuters were stranded on Monday after a pillar supporting overhead power cables collapsed on the southern suburbs line in stormy weather.
A Metrorail official said a cable stay collapsed between Steenberg and Retreat stations about 5.30am, blocking the tracks and causing a power failure which affected an extended section of the rail network.
The spokesperson said the problem lasted for the entire morning rush hour. Emergency workers were expected to repair the damage by mid morning.
Derek Kemm was on the first Cape Town-bound train of the day near Steenberg station when the lines came crashing down. He said the power cut out and the carriage was in total darkness, while outside sparks flew from the dangling cables.
"People dived for cover because we didn't know what was happening. There was no screaming, though, I think everyone was just stunned," he said.
Commuters on the train were asked to get off and most took taxis to the city.
Rian Smit, a weather forecaster at Cape Town International Airport, predicted more widespread rain over the Peninsula until Wednesday. Smit said the wet weather would disappear on Thursday and Friday, when "pleasant warm days" could be expected.
"I'll stick my neck out and predict a sunny weekend," he said.
The weekend signalled the start of winter with snowfalls on the peaks of Boland mountains on Friday and heavy rainfall recorded over the Peninsula, Swartland and Boland on Saturday and Sunday.
Smit said most of the weekend's rain fell on Friday, with 97mm recorded in Paarl, 31mm in Malmesbury and 28mm in Cape Town.