Old trains, vandalism cause delays
THE PRIMARY reasons for delays on trains are old and obsolete technology as a result of decades of disinvestment in rail and perpetual vandalism.
So says Metrorail’s spokesperson, Riana Scott, after the vandalism and chaos that rocked Cape Town station on Monday evening.
“Metrorail has 56 train-sets. There is a reduced capacity, because demand outstrips supply.
“Metrorail operates 489km of railway lines, our service spans six municipalities and is impacted by external factors beyond our control such as petty theft of rail components, orchestrated and targeted vandalism (theft of copper cabling and other metal-bearing components), informal settlements in the rail reserve, trespasser incidents, self-harm incidents, illegal electrical connections underneath or across our tracks, disposal of wet waste on tracks by adjoining unserviced settlements and being targeted in frustration during service-related protest action unrelated to the train service,” Scott said.
“The continuous vandalism of assets results in services being unreliable.”
After the latest incident, two platforms are out of commission, meaning that all trains that arrived at and departed from them must be shunted into alternative platforms.
Trains will be placed in a holding platform outside Cape Town station, especially at peak times, waiting for the allocation of a spare platform.
Acting chairperson of the transport portfolio committee in Parliament, Leonard Ramatlakane, said the repairs would cost millions as the burnt trains would have to be replaced.