‘Suicide wall’ for Tshwane trains

PREVENTATIVE: ALSO REDUCES THEFT AND VANDALISM The project costs R60 million and should be completed by the end of 2017.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has given contractors until the end of 2017 to finish the 51km Mamelodi wall, which has also been dubbed the “suicide wall”.

Prasa spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng said the wall, which will cost R60 million, stretches from Pienaarspoort station, in the far east of Pretoria, to the Eersterust station in Stormvoël Road.

Mofokeng said the reason for building this wall is to mitigate the occurrence of incidents in and around train stations and to ensure the new silent trains, which will run at a high speed, will operate safely without injuring commuters and the public.

“Existing fencing on this section is inadequate, damaged, and non-existent due to theft and vandalism,” said Mofokeng. “This allows easy access to the platforms without having a ticket, which results in huge revenue losses for Prasa,” Mofokeng said.

She added that apart from the loss of revenue and the attraction of criminal elements, the risk of people being run over by trains is significant, especially in areas where people cross the railway lines illegally.

Mofokeng said they were happy to report that no suicides-by-train had happened since the construction of the wall began.

Adrian Petersen, one of the contractors who is tasked with building the wall on the Eersterust side, said they are hoping to finish on schedule.

He said the construction of the wall had created many job opportunities for the communities of Eersterust and Mamelodi and has also saved many lives to date.

Mamelodi residents were initially very unhappy, saying crossing the lines is the easiest way to get around, but Prasa has had enough of deaths and suicide-by-train.

School children also used to cross the railway lines to get to their destinations.

Residents said they had asked for many years to have pedestrian bridges built to avoid crossing the lines, but their requests had fallen on deaf ears.

Picture: Jacques Nelles BRICK BY BRICK. A construction worker busy building the wall next to the railway line in Eersterust in Pretoria where people often get killed by trains or commit suicide.