Cape Town - A train commuter who fell victim to a robbery by a knife-wielding gang last week said he was horrified as the train driver saw screaming passengers fight to get out of the train - but continued to pull out of the station as though nothing had happened.
In what has been described as the “train ride from hell”, a carriage full of passengers were robbed of their valuables at about 7pm on Wednesday as the train travelled between Retreat and Steenberg stations.
According to witnesses, about six men boarded the train, carrying knives, and robbed the passengers.
A man spoke to the Cape Times on condition that he remain anonymous, as his cellphone was stolen and he feared the robbers would use personal information on his phone to track him down.
He said once the robbers fled, people hurried out of the Metro Plus carriage and shouted for security, to no avail.
“What shocked me more… was that the train driver in the rear carriage saw all this happening and, while everyone was standing in shock on the platform, (the driver) simply closed the train doors and pulled out of the station,” he said.
The man said the robbers were not wearing masks and their faces were clearly identifiable. He has since laid a charge with police.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said no arrests had been made and police were investigating.
Metrorail regional manager Richard Walker denied that the driver would have pulled out of the station if he had seen what had happened. Drivers were obliged to alert the operations team about incidents they were aware of. “It happened in a matter of seconds. The person can’t assume that the driver saw what happened,” Walker said.
If people wanted to report a crime they needed to alert security on the train, he said. If there was none then commuters would need to get off at the next station and report to security there.
Leslie van Minnen, Rail Commuters Action Group chairperson, condemned the parastatal for not having enough security guards deployed at stations and on trains.