Rail maintenance to affect commuters
Metrorail to provide Golden Arrow buses as alternative
CHAOS is expected today as central line commuters again scramble to find alternative transport. This comes after Metrorail announced on Friday that it has suspended its central line service once again. The announcement said the Chris Hani and Kapteinsklip line trains would be terminated at Langa due the earlier pantograph hook-up at Netreg.
“Service recovery maintenance work continues today following the pantograph hook-up at Netreg yesterday. Chris Hani and Kapteinsklip trains continue to terminate at Langa. Monthly and weekly ticket holders can utilise Golden Arrow Bus Service,” Metrorail said in a statement.
The pantograph hook-up is an device that is mounted on the roof of a train and is used to collect power through contact with the overhead catenary wire.
It’s not the first time that Metrorail has had disruptions on its central line. Last month the railway giant suspended its service for over six weeks after a security guard was shot dead at its station in Khayelitsha following acts of vandalism.
Meanwhile the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Transport and Public Works in the provincial legislature, Nceba Hinana, has conducted a visit to Khayelitsha’s train station and boarded a Cape Town-bound train using the central line. Hinana said she was concerned that thousands of passengers would be stranded and unable to reach their places of work.
“It is deeply concerning that Metrorail did not provide buses for passengers, stating that commuters would have to find their own means of transport. This is a slap in the face to the thousands of commuters who rely on Metrorail’s central line to go to work,” Hinana said.
He said the Passenger Rail Agency of SA’s failure to deliver a reliable service would have devastating effects on the economy.
“If people do not have a reliable transport system, they are robbed of employment as they cannot move to and from their places of work,” he said.
Hinana also called on Metrorail’s Western Cape regional manager Richard Walker to urgently address the provincial standing committee on transport and public works on his company’s failures. He wants Walker to reduce delays and cancellations, and provide alternative forms of transport.