Thousands of Metrorail commuters were left stranded on Wednesday morning after train services in the Naledi corridor‚ Soweto‚ were disrupted following cable theft.

Gauteng Metrorail spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng said overhead catenary wires were cut off and stolen between the Dube and Ikhwezi train stations‚ on both the up and down line.

Mofokeng said the trains could not move in the Johannesburg direction until technicians had replaced the stolen cables.

She said the disruption affected more than 60‚000 train commuters in Naledi‚ New Canada and the Kazerne West corridor.

“Of great concern is the growing trend by criminals now targeting both lines to make sure the railway system is paralyzed for peak period operations‚” acting provincial manager of Gauteng Metrorail Goodman Matampi said.

“We call on support from local government and law enforcement agencies to help us tighten all effort in fighting this criminality which may soon lead to the collapse of the railway services and negatively affect the economy of the province‚” Matampi said

Arrangements for buses were made for monthly and weekly ticket holders as a form of alternative transport between New Canada and Naledi.

Severe delays can be expected and other commuters are advised to use alternative modes of transport.