Metrorail in decline

I CONSIDER myself a trainspotter. I have always loved trains.

I travelled by train, alone, from the tender age of 7, from Langa to Woodstock daily as I made my commute to school.

I remember trains being clean, on time and safe. I remember conductors on trains, checking tickets. Until I left the Cape Technikon in 2003, I was still travelling by train. The system was already declining. The trains were dirty.

There were no conductors. There was no respect for the class system anymore. Trains were always late. Vandalism was visible and the signs were there that Metrorail was not coping.

I was mugged on a train in 1999 between Woodstock and Salt River. When the train stopped at Salt River, I alerted a security guard, who just watched my attacker jog alongside the train, on the platform.

What baffles me is, who works at Metrorail? What do the operational managers, the regional managers and all these people with fancy titles do to deal with this?

What do they discuss in their meetings? All I see are excuses from Riana Scott and Richard Walker.

I often wonder if Metrorail executives have ever been on a train, just for one morning or evening, to see what their commuters must endure.

Metrorail’s demise seems like the tip of the iceberg that we are about to crash into. In my 32 years as a train user, Metrorail has never suspended services.

I have never seen South Africans sitting on the roof of a train, like they do in India. I never imagined that things would get this bad. Commuters deserve better than this! Brian Mbanga Durbanville