The Cape Flats Line service begins at the central Cape Town railway station, from which it runs east along the Cape Town–Bellville main line as far as Maitland. After Maitland station it goes off to the south, passing along the western edge of Pinelands before crossing under the N2 freeway and over the Black River. It then continues south through Athlone and Lansdowne, and then south-west through Ottery and Southfield, before joining the Southern Line route at Heathfield. Services on the Cape Flats Line terminate at occasionally at Heathfield, with the line terminus being Retreat.[1]