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It will take 2 years to fix the damage by train vandals - in Cape Town alone

File photo
File photo

The constant vandalism of trains in the Western Cape has led to the cancellation of over 40 peak hour trains trips in Cape Town‚ and it will take nearly two years for the services to get back to normal‚ a provincial legislature member says.

 “This is assuming that the mindless vandalism comes to an end‚” says Lennit Max‚ chairperson of the Standing Committee on Transport and Public Works in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature.

Arsonists are being blamed for damage done to a train at the Retreat station at the weekend‚ which is affecting commuters on the southern line today.

Max said: “After the last incident in Retreat station‚ this unacceptable behaviour makes it over 20 trains that have been torched in the past year alone‚ costing Metrorail millions“.

“We are pleading with the people of the Western Cape to stop vandalising trains as this only ensures that trains are delayed even more. We also urge the public to come out and report these acts of vandalism and ensure the culprits are arrested. The senseless burning of trains is a violation of others rights and cannot be allowed to continue any longer.

“A great deal of commuters rely on Metrorail to get workers and learners to their destinations... we cannot allow a few vandals to disrupt our daily commute.”

He added he would write to Metrorail “to inquire whether they have a long term solution‚ that will ensure that their infrastructure is protected from vandals and what their plan is to ensuring that trains function optimally without delays“.

Metrorail bosses in April pledged they would not rest until the people who have reduced trains in Cape Town to a state of chaos are behind bars and Congress of South African Trade Unions regional secretary Tony Ehrenreich said the federation “believes that destruction of the trains and the rail infrastructure must be seen as sabotage‚ as it has a devastating effect on the economy”.

 

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