Trains in SA: Vandalism and Violence

Members of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Transport voiced their dissatisfaction with PRASA's inability to deal with Cape Town’s rail crisis on Tuesday, 13 February 2018. With the Deputy Minister of Transport in attendance, the Committee received briefings from #UniteBehind, PRASA, Metrorail, the Railway Safety Regulator and the United Commuters Voice (UCV). The meeting was supposed to have taken place last week, but PRASA’s interim board failed to show up.

In a presentation hard hitting presentation, #UniteBehind showed video footage of people standing on the roofs of crowded trains and between the carriages and also provided testimonies by commuters on the impact of delays and cancelled trains on their livelihoods and safety. They alerted the Committee to the fact that the Central Line that has been shut down for the past five weeks impacted the lives of 120 000 commuters in Cape Town.

While PRASA’s presentation addressed issues like the extent of vandalism, cable and equipment theft, and the status of accident investigations, the Committee was not impressed. ANC MP, Leonard Ramatlakane called the presentation “a cut and paste job”, and said that PRASA had not offered solutions.

UniteBehind quoted a RSR report that there had been 2 079 injuries and 495 fatalities nationally in trains in 2016/17 and they recommended the reopening of the Central Line with adequate security, the employment of qualified security that would be supported by SAPS, protection of commuters particularly women and children through proper lightning and CCTV surveillance, and separate coaches for women, children and people with disabilities. In addition, they wanted specific details and timeframes for safety plans that would be communicated to commuters, the provision of alternative forms of transport such as buses to commuters on lines that have been suspended or facing delays and a proposed plan on how delays can be stopped.

See infographic below: