Sabotage, fuel hike strangle Cape transport

Cape Town. 010212. Passengers standing in a line waiting to board busses at the Mitchells Plain bus terminus. Picture Leon Lestrade. Story Kowtar Solomons

Cape Town. 010212. Passengers standing in a line waiting to board busses at the Mitchells Plain bus terminus. Picture Leon Lestrade. Story Kowtar Solomons

Published Feb 5, 2012

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The Western Cape transport network is under severe pressure, with continued incidents of sabotage on Metrorail trains combined with concerns over fuel deliveries and the price of petrol being hiked to its highest level ever.

 

Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle said that even under normal circumstances the transport network was under severe strain. But damage to Metrorail’s train network had sent thousands of additional commuters on to the roads, which need urgent attention.

 

“What started as simple acts of vandalism have escalated to a full-on attack to destroy Metrorail,” Carlisle said.

Lindelo Matya, Metrorail regional manager, said damage had become so frequent that incidents outstripped the rate at which repairs could be done.

Since November, a

bout 173 trains have been cancelled and 2 503 delays reported as a result of sabotage, suspected to be the work of striking security guards.

The targets have been the two largest commuter rail routes to and from the city centre - Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.

The damage, which carries a price tag of at least R23 million, includes the destruction of four facilities, five train carriages, more than 110 signals, 17 point machines, 21 track boxes and assorted cables.

Metrorail said each train transports an average of 850 to 1 000 people per trip. But Carlisle said up to 4 000 people travel per train to and from work.

“These trains are grossly overloaded, but that is the reality of how the majority of the city’s people get to work,” he said, adding that even when trains were running at full capacity, traffic on the roads had hit its limit.

“And with the current rail problems we now see thousands of additional cars on the roads, which results in massive delays and increased risk of accidents.”

 

Carlisle, who has been outspoken about Metrorail’s poor service delivery in recent months, said it was crucial for the transport department to step in and deal with the issues facing the Western Cape division of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA.

“The latest attacks on Metrorail meant that we needed to step in and resolve this crisis before it could cause any further damage. We’ve spoken to Metrorail and, together with the City of Cape Town and the police, have come up with several new plans to speed up the rehabilitation of rail transport.

“Many of these measures, such as increasing security along railway lines, are hoped to become more permanent, but our first priority is to get Metrorail running at its regular capacity.”

In the meantime, taxi and bus services have been asked to run double shifts to accommodate the increased number of commuters.

Carlisle admitted the situation was far from perfect, but said it was the only immediate alternative.

Problems have been further compounded by sporadic fuel shortages, along with the latest petrol price hike on Wednesday which saw prices upped 34c to R10.95 a litre.

Avhapfani Tshifularo, executive director of the SA Petroleum Industry Association, said the fuel crisis had been a problem for some time, and would continue to be a challenge in the future.

“In recent months the petroleum industry has faced various operational challenges, which have had a knock-on effect on the supply of fuel.

“As such, the government and industry are continually focusing on ways to address the security of fuel supply, which is an ongoing battle.”

He said that the key focus was to mitigate any impact on supply disruptions “by ensuring fuel distribution to all regions”.

Tshifularo also rubbished claims that people’s fuel deliveries were being deliberately delayed until the price hike came into effect last Wednesday.

Michael Bagraim, chairman of the Cape Chamber of Commerce, said the effects of Metrorail’s problems on businesses were incalculable, and would probably continue for some time into the future.

 

“The rail system is the lifeblood of the city, and it’s being slowly choked to death.”

- Sunday Argus

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