Cape Town – The DA in the Western Cape is extremely concerned following Metrorail’s announcement that the Southern Line would be out of service for at least a week due to vandalism.
Highlighting the negative impact it would have on commuters, MPP Ricardo Mackenzie, the DA Western Cape spokesperson on transport and public works, noted on Tuesday that this comes less than two weeks after vandalism incidents halted various services on the Northern Line.
“Officials currently estimate that the damage inflicted on the Fish Hoek section of the Southern Line stands at R1 million. Despite continuous reassurance from Prasa and Metrorail that their turnaround strategy is sound and being implemented, we continue to see how the prevalence of criminality in our communities is denying residents access to reliable transport.
’’Criminal activity is one of several reasons why the Western Cape’s weekday train services have decreased from 444 per day to just 151 per day since 2019,’’ said Mackenzie.
’’The culmination of these events means that the province is on a precipice of having no rail transport whatsoever. Even though there has been a greater reliance on bus and taxi transport alternatives, this doesn’t mean that we can allow our rail services to continue to decline.
’’Many commuters are in dire need of trains as they offer the most affordable means of travel. In addition to written questions I’ve submitted regarding the Northern Line issues, I will be asking similar parliamentary questions to the provincial Minister of Transport and Public Works in this regard.
’’The DA in the Western Cape remains committed to assisting our national counterparts to restoring our public transport infrastructure to operational capacity.
’’This is why we are the only province to have signed an MOU with Prasa in 2019 in order to help bring about change needed in this sector. It is of great disappointment that we see their side of the bargain not being upheld.’’
According to Metrorail spokesperson Nana Zenani, its Protection Services had thwarted the theft of an 11-kilovolt (kV) line on Sunday, but the suspects unfortunately threw the cut line onto live 3kV overhead electric wires.
This triggered an emergency on the Southern Line when two wires touched, causing damage to four mast poles.
’’Metrorail will not be able to run services on the Southern Line, specifically between Retreat and Fish Hoek,’’ Zenani said on Monday.
’’These lines have in the past remained safe from vandalism. Unfortunately, the vandalism seems to be threatening the Southern Line.
’’The damage to the mast poles and overhead electrical lines is estimated at approximately R1 million. Metrorail is prioritising the repairs on the line on order to get the service running.
’’The line closure will last approximately one week while the budget will have to come from money set aside for normal operations.
’’If communities and businesses do not assist in stopping the rampant vandalism, the Western Cape will be without a passenger rail service. Rail is the only source of mass movement and without it commuters will continue to pay higher transportation costs.
’’The illicit copper trade is thriving with impunity, with copper pricing on the market at between R80 and R90 per kilogram.
’’This is the source of problem and why criminals are targeting and vandalising our infrastructure. We need stringent interventions and controls in respect to scrap dealing and the export of copper.
’’The very relaxed regulations around the sale of copper is causing Metrorail serious harm in its ability to deliver on it's mandate to operate trains.’’
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