The South African rail network is under increasing pressure to transport commodities reliably, but poor substation performance makes it difficult for the system to meet its mandate. The primary goal of this study was to provide the engineering communities with the factors affecting the reliability of traction substations. The bathtub curve theory was used in the study, along with Weibull analysis, to assess the lifecycle phase of the substations. A questionnaire and the operational data of the 3kV DC section were used to collect a mix of qualitative and quantitative data. Using the Weibull distribution model, the study discovered that the substation equipment was in the wear-out phase in terms of the bathtub curve. Most failure causes are due to protection equipment, circuit breakers, and telecontrol. According to the financial data, most of the maintenance cost is attributed to corrective maintenance. The study suggested that the organization look into implementing predictive maintenance and training maintenance personnel in order to improve plant performance.