STAFF REPORTERS
COMMUTERS on the city’s northern railway lines were plunged into chaos this morning when a train carriage derailed outside Bellville and an overhead power failure near Kraaifontein stopped trains in their tracks.
Metrorail regional manager Lindelo Matya said the carriage had been empty and the driver had not been injured, but the incident had rendered two northern service corridors “inoperable”.
Trains were unable to run from Strand and Bishop Lavis to Bellville.
A third line serving Kraaifontein was also out of operation because of an overhead power line failure at Huguenot station.
Matya said that while a bus had been arranged to transport commuters between Paarl and Wellington, there were not enough available buses for the other routes affected by the derailment and power failure.
“We have no option but to advise customers to make alternative travel arrangements. We realise the extent of their inconvenience and we are working as fast as we possibly can to clear the affected lines.”
Matya said Transnet Freight Rail was working to restore the overhead power so that the service on the Kraaifontein corridor could be restored.
He asked employers to be lenient with employees affected by the disruptions. By 8am today, traffic along the N1 and main roads in the northern suburbs was heavily congested as a result of the train service disruptions.
Stranded commuters streamed from stations into the streets to try to get a taxi or a bus.
Those who had travelled to their nearest station by car and parked there appeared to be back on the roads to make their way to work.
“Everything coming from Somerset West and the Bellville area has been affected and, apart from more vehicles, there are also lots of people on the streets,” said Kevin Jacobs, Cape Town traffic spokesman.
“The main roads are heavily congested. I am driving through Kuils River and it is very busy on the road here at the moment,” he said this morning.