Report: 50% drop in train users

General lack of security and unreliability bite service hard

METRORAIL passengers in the Western Cape have dropped by about 50% in 17 years. This is according to the provincial standing committee on transport and public works based on a Railway Safety Regulator report.

It said commuters have stopped using rail transport, which showed a decline from 675 607 daily passengers in 2000 to an estimated 360 000 passengers in 2017. The drop is caused by safety and security issues such as assault, robbery and murder.

United National Transport Union spokesperson Sonja Carstens attributed the decline to the unreliability of the train services.

“Secondly, because Prasa is unable to combat non-payment. Commuters just walk off the railway lines without paying, nobody stopping them,” she said.

However, a Metrorail regional spokesperson said the company did not know the basis and context of the regulator’s calculation and would not comment.

According to the regulator, 495 people died on trains in South Africa in the 2016/17 financial year‚ while 2 095 were injured. From 2015 to date, there have been reports of 32 murders and 114 incidents of assault with grievous bodily harm (GBH) at railway stations in the Western Cape.

Only 12 arrests were made in murder cases and 59 arrests on assault GBH.

A survey conducted earlier this year by the Cape Chamber of Commerce and industry with 295 respondents, found that 86.3% of businesses believed Metrorail’s operations threatened the sustainability of their operations. Chairperson of the standing committee Nceba Hinana said apart from safety increasingly becoming a major issue, delays were also a factor.

In October 2015, 80% of the trains were on time with a 3% cancellation rate.

But in July 2017, only 65% of trains were on time with cancellations jumping to well over 15%.

During the same period, 101 train coaches were lost due to damages sustained by fire. This is estimated to have cost R312 million.

“The lack of safety and security on trains and train stations has led to more people opting to use other forms of transport such as buses, taxis or their own vehicles to travel to and from work. This has added immense pressure on the existing road network and has also contributed to fierce traffic being experienced throughout the province during peak hours.”

Meanwhile Metrorail’s Riana Scott said only two of four available railway lines on the central line were operating due to constant vandalisation of signalling equipment. “We usually have four tracks at our disposal; two serving in and outbound traffic from Chris Hani and another doing likewise for Kapteinsklip trains.

“The usual two tracks serving the Chris Hani line are currently out of commission for repairs due to vandalism. The points are clamped at the red circle enabling traffic to Sarepta, but trains to and from Chris Hani must currently share track space with Kapteinsklip traffic.”