To make the rail service safer in and around Cape Town the City of Cape Town has embarked on a process to revive the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (Prasa) rail enforcement unit (REU).
The unit operated as a three-way government partnership between October 2018 and July 2020.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says he believes the revival of the REU would be a meaningful intervention that has previously been shown to work and will have a positive impact on safeguarding the network.
He says the City is currently engaging with Prasa regarding this.
The mayor says the R48 million unit was a deterrent against vandalism of the rail infrastructure and improved commuter safety.
Members conducted inspections at hotspot areas and scrapyards; recovered stolen cables and goods, made arrests for among others, possession of stolen goods, drugs, assault and malicious damage to property.
“National government, the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town each contributed a third to the funding of this Unit and provided an additional 100 City Law Enforcement officers to the existing security personnel in an effort to help support the security challenges faced by Metrorail.”
Over the years, the rail network has experienced decline because of rampant vandalism by organised syndicates. The sharpest increase in vandalism was seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
During a site inspection of the Woodstock railway line recently, Hill-Lewis dubbed the site as one of “the worst sites of cable theft” in the city.
The Safety and Security directorate met with Prasa and a preliminary agreement was reached to reinstate the Rail Enforcement Unit (REU) along with several other critical interventions to ensure that the safety of commuters and rail infrastructure was achieved.
JP Smith, Mayco member for safety and security, says the proposal is to sign a new Memorandum of Agreement, which would guide the apportionment of costs between the City, the provincial government and Prasa to deliver on the reinstatement of the REU as rapidly as possible.
He says the REU would be supported by drones
“And the Eye-in-the-Sky digital surveillance and evidence management with enhanced information management and investigative support, as well as improved revenue protection mechanisms to ensure that safe and effective rail commuter transport can be reinstated as quickly as possible and protected against further vandalism.”
Zinobulali Mihi, a Communications Officer for Prasa, says: “Prasa the City of Cape Town and Law Enforcement are busy with plans for the Rail Enforcement Unit (REU). This is not only being done in Cape Town but in various provinces. The plans will be announced at the right time.”
Responding to questions about commuter safety, Mihi says: “Prasa has been overhauling its security for the past year with lots of projects being implemented which are bearing fruits. Phase two of our plans are also being deployed thick and fast with a lot of intelligence driven operations. We hope to make announcements in due course.”
Meanwhile, the City’s feasibility study on taking over the management of passenger rail from national government started on Friday 1 July, with a briefing between officials from the Urban Mobility Directorate and engineering and infrastructure company SMEC South Africa, the services provider appointed to conduct the study.
The intention is to devolve the passenger rail service to the Metro to build a reliable, integrated public transport system for Cape Town.
The team undertaking the feasibility study contains specialists in rail business, rail strategic planners, railway facilities and asset management, operations, transport planners, legal experts, and project managers.
