Dear Cape Town
In response to my parliamentary question, provincial Transport & Public Works Minister Bonginkosi Madikizela indicates that only 40 of the 88 trainsets in the Western Cape are operational. It is further noted that whilst vandalism and theft of railway infrastructure is a serious criminal offence (Criminal Matters Amendment Act, 2015) the number of such crimes increases year-on-year.
For this reason, we welcome the launch of the Bellville Rail Management and Traffic Control Centre which must lead to improved rail operations, on-time performance and safety of the network. The launch of the centre comes at a time where the railway system in the Western Cape is all but collapsed as a result of years of mismanagement, theft, and vandalism. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) will have to invest in excess of R1,4 billion to recover the Western Cape rail system.
I have posed oral questions to Minister Madikizela which are set to be answered this Friday at the provincial legislature. We seek explanation for the President’s failure to deliver on his promise that by September of this year the Central Line would be fully restored; whether trains will be supplemented in the interim; and why the delay persists in the construction of a much-needed safety well between Netreg and Bonteheuwel stations.
While the establishment of the new control centre is a measure of progress, it remains our position that long-lasting improvement of our railway system will be maintained if the provincial government is given the mandate to manage the railway network itself.
It remains the priority of the DA in the Western Cape that all forms of public transport remain safe, cost-effective, and efficient.
Regards
Daylin Mitchell, MPP
DA Western Cape Committee Spokesperson on Transport and Public works.
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