The Western Cape passenger rail (Metrorail) has confirmed that its service is currently being disrupted by a telecommunications outage. According to a Metrorail statement released on Wednesday, October 6, the main cause of the outage is a vandalised optic fibre cable on the Diep River line.
Spokesperson Nana Zenani said the cut optic fibre has no copper inside, however it keeps on being vandalized.
“The result is that trains in various corridors across the region cannot be automatically controlled at the Train Control Center. When the automated panel goes off the team cannot automatically see where the trains are to effectively and safely move them,” Zenani said.
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Zenani further mentioned that the safety protocol when this happens is to manually authorise each train movement for safety as this creates additional travel time which would otherwise be managed automatically by Trail Control.
In the meantime, commuters are urged to make use of alternative transport solutions in the interim until the fibre is repaired by their technicians.
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Picture: Cape {town} Etc gallery