Only seven of thirty-four of the Metrorail’s train lines are operational, and this at reduced capacity. In the Western Cape, the central line is still not fully operational. As the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has failed in efforts to get commuters to work, they have equally failed against the battle of theft and vandalism. Over 400 people have been arrested in connection with vandalism, amounting to a total of over 370 years’ worth of convictions.
MPP Daylin Mitchell says: “Since Minister Fikile Mbalula announced in March R1,4bn to restore Cape Town’s Central Line to full capacity, we have only seen the situation worsen. The line transports about 40% of commuters in the city alone, but there is constant theft of cables and infrastructure which the trains need to operate.
I have posed parliamentary questions to provincial Transport & Public Works Minister Bonginkosi Madikizela to determine the extent of the battle we as a province face to get our railways back on track.
I will furthermore invite PRASA officials and the Research Chair the entity sponsors at Stellenbosch University (SU) to brief the provincial Transport & Public Works Standing Committee on efforts to refurbish and improve network safety. The SU grouping was mandated by PRASA back in 2009 to provide solutions to its ongoing maintenance and engineering issues.”
The dwindling railway network has become a site for dumping and small scale informal businesses, with residents calling for an already failing and broken national entity, PRASA, to relocate them. There has been large-scale damage to the railway in the Western Cape, with land on railway tracks being illegally sold for as little as R1 000.
MPP Daylin Mitchell said: “Although the organisation has deployed thousands of security guards to safeguard the stations and tracks, it has seen little to no effect. PRASA has since stated that they have plans to remove all informal settlements and build a wall to safeguard its infrastructure.
The only way we will see long-lasting improvement of our railway system is if the provincial government is given the mandate and funds to manage the network of trains in the province. As a state entity, PRASA’s mismanagement continues to cost the taxpayer billions.”
It remains the priority of the DA in the Western Cape that all forms of public transport remain safe for the residents who make use of them.
