The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape has expressed their concerns regarding the state of the Southern Line and the impact it will have on residents who are dependent on public transport.
The concerns come after Metrorail announced that the Southern Line will be out of service for at least a week due to vandalism. Vandalism has caused disruption for train commuters after some Metrorail services have been placed on hold in the Western Cape.
The DA’s spokesperson on Transport and Public Works in the Western Cape, Ricardo Mackenzie says officials currently estimate that the damage inflicted on the Fish Hoek section of the Southern Line stands at R1 million.
“Despite continuous reassurance from PRASA and Metrorail that their turnaround strategy is sound and being implemented, they continue to see how the prevalence of criminality in communities is denying residents access to reliable transport. Criminal activity is one of several reasons why the Western Cape’s weekday train services have decreased from 444 per day to just 151 per day since 2019,” Mackenzie said.
According to Mackenzie the culmination of these events means that the Province is on a precipice of having no rail transport whatsoever, and even though there has been a greater reliance on bus and taxi transport alternatives, this doesn’t mean that the rail services should continue to decline.
“Many commuters are in dire need of trains as they offer the most affordable means of travel. In addition to written questions I’ve submitted regarding the Northern Line issues, I will be asking similar parliamentary questions to the provincial Minister of Transport and Public Works in this regard,” Mackenzie adds.
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Portfolio Chairperson of Transport as well as Sub Council Chairperson, Angus McKenzie mentioned to Cape {town} Etc that he had numerous meetings with PRASA officials around the fixing and reinstatement of the central line from Langa, including Bonteheuwel and Netreg station.
“This line had been plundered by vandals and station deck stripped bare including concrete finding feet.
“After numerous consultations, I informed PRASA senior officials that it makes no logical sense to replace overheard cables and equipment until such time that the boundary wall was completed as this would just lead to the equipment being stolen and vandalised again,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie went on to explain that with no reinstatement of the successful Rail Enforcement Unit and a rather poor alternative security plan, which was proven to be a failure with more vandalism and theft taking place during the implementation thereof, we are bound to see that the money now invested in repair work will be wasted.
“It makes no sense at all that work has been allowed to continue with no proper security measures put in place to stop theft and vandalism. One must ask the question: why has PRASA acted in this manner? Why has PRASA not adhered to a sound advice which included completing the boundary wall first and then replacing cables and equipment? The high wall would have served as the perfect deterrent to ongoing theft and vandalism on the Central Line,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape remains the only province in the country to have signed an MOU with PRASA in 2019 in order to help bring about the change needed in this sector.
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Picture: Cape {town} Etc gallery