City approves rail security training

THE CITY has approved the training and later deployment of 100 law enforcement officers to protect rail infrastructure, which has come under attack in the past few weeks.

Mayco members yesterday approved the deployment of officers at the end of next month at a cost of R47.9 million.

The set-up costs of the new unit are being shared equally by the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), the City and the provincial government.

Part of it is to provide vehicles and equipment, and about R25m is for staffing. They will be fully fledged peace officers able to make arrests.

JP Smith, mayco member for safety, security and social services, said: “The recruitment of staff is well under way. We also used existing staff to make an impact on the vandalism on the rail system.”

Brett Herron, mayco member for urban development and transport, said: “We see now that Metrorail has about 37 train sets, while 88 are needed. That is a fraction of the capacity that they had. We now know that many commuters have moved on to road transport and that is why we have seen the dramatic increase in congestion.”

Herron said the ultimate goal was to address the safety and security issues in an effort to stabilise the urban rail service in the short term.

“I am pleased to see this initiative come to fruition after years of discussion. The urban rail system is the backbone of public transport in Cape Town, with thousands of commuters relying on the service. We are now stepping up our efforts to prevent further decline,” he said.

Metrorail regional manager Richard Walker said there was now increased vigilance and observance among employees, commuters and the public.