It is not yet confirmed but the death toll for now is sitting at 14," said Daisy Daniel, spokeswoman for long haul passenger rail service Shosholoza Meyl.
At least 100 people were injured, Russel Meirin, spokesman for emergency medical care organisation ER24 said.
"Provincial fire and medical services were the first to arrive on the scene, finding that several carriages were lying on the side," he added.
"A fire had broken out in one of the carriages and had begun to spread."
The train, owned by long-distance rail service Shosholoza Meyl, was reportedly full of people going back to Johannesburg from holiday in Port Elizabeth.
Train passenger Tiaan Esterhuizen said the train was "blowing its horn for a long time" before the crash. Sky more