An exasperated regional Metrorail last week issued a statement saying it will not cower to criminals as acts of vandalism continue to derail their efforts to restore the southern and northern lines.
The statement comes after Prasa (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa) and Eskom technicians repaired the same cable on Monday 7 March after it was cut by criminals during loadshedding.
Metrorail said it was implementing additional and immediate security interventions and undercover investigations into the attempted theft and vandalism of the 33 Kv Eskom cable that feeds electricity to the main traction substation powering the running of trains.
Trains travelling from Cape Town to Muizenberg had to be cancelled at Retreat Station due to power-supply failure at 18:30 on Thursday evening (10 March). “The attempted theft and vandalism of the electrical infrastructure on a line that has been successfully restored to service, while Metrorail works to restore the rest of the lines, points to blatant sabotage of Metrorail Services, which we will not tolerate,” said Kaparo Molefi, acting regional manager.
Metrorail would be engaging with Eskom and law enforcement for an investigation.
Metrorail launched the full southern line service on Tuesday 4 January (“Trains back on Track”, People’ Post, 11 January). Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU) new trains – distinguishable by their blue markings – were introduced to operate at peak times on Friday 25 February, allowing more new trains to run on that line. “The southern line service is our demonstration corridor of what we are bringing in the Western Cape,” said Molefi. “The sabotage of our rail infrastructure is jeopardising the hard work of returning the service to those who desperately need it. We are determined to return the rail services and we will not cower to criminals.”
