Millions lost as commuters burn train coaches

HUNDREDS of millions of rand go up in smoke each year as rail commuters vent their anger over late trains or a poor service by torching train carriages, Transport Minister S’bu Ndebele has revealed.

Responding to a written parliamentary question from Cope MP Pakiso Mbhele last week, Ndebele said the cost of “repairing and replacing torched train carriages” was R126.2 million (2011/12), R82.3m (2010/11) and R81.5m (2009/10) over the past three financial years.

However, further enquiries have revealed that, last year alone, theft, vandalism, train fires and level crossing accidents cost the state R203m – and that the annual bill rockets to a staggering R1 billion once ancillary costs, such as overtime, bus charters and lost revenue, are factored into the equation.

“The singular persistent challenge that continues to undermine all efforts to improve the service offering in the commuter and passenger rail spaces remain the twin evils of theft and vandalism of safety-critical assets,” Metro- rail spokesman, Lawrence Venkile, said at the weekend.

Mbhele said the money lost to thieving and torching was “total madness” and blamed the situation on “a lack of leadership by the ruling party”.

When it was put to him that the damage was not caused by the ANC, but by members of the public, Mbhele said: “If you governed effectively and managed these things (late trains and labour strikes) properly, then these incidents would not be happening.”

He was also scathing in his criticism of union leaders, whom he blamed for making “instigatory statements” during strikes and “inciting their members” – and then “being the first to deny that their members were involved” when trains got torched.

Six men were arrested in March this year after eight train carriages were torched in New Canada and Orlando East, Soweto, and at the Braamfontein and Elandsfontein yards, during an illegal strike by members of the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union, who were demanding the removal of Passenger Rail Agency SA chief executive Lucky Montana.