Cape Town Tourism\'s Gadijah Darries and Coleen van Staden with Metrorail marketing and promotions manager Daphne Kayster.

Cape Town Tourism and Metrorail, South Africa’s premier railway service, got together for a much-needed clean-up operation at the iconic Newlands Station on Thursday February 16, 2012.

Carrying drills, posters, paintbrushes and other renovation paraphernalia, the team set to work beautifying the inner-station tunnel walls. Posters were mounted while some gorgeous plants were planted in designated areas along the platform.

Newlands is the first in a series of six stations to be spruced up along the Southern Line Tourism Route. Other stations include Observatory, Muizenberg, Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town.

The restoration initiative was a fitting project for Responsible Tourism Week, which was held from February 13 to 17, 2012. A global online conference, Responsible Tourism Week is hosted by Planeta.com and is a five-day-long discussion about responsible tourism, conscious travel and eco-tourism.

Below are a few images of the clean-up:

Chelene Wigget of Cape Town Tourism digs in ahead of planting shrubs at the Newlands Station.

Events coordinator Fatima Borez shows off her painting skills during the clean-up operation.

Mounting posters in wooden frames to beautify the outer walls of the station was just one of the restoration projects.

The new plants will add beauty to the station.