Cape Town - Trains between Fish Hoek and Cape Town saw a further five stations added to the service from on Wednesday.
Metrorail’s provincial acting regional manager, Raymond Maseko, said the Steenberg, Harfield Road, Wittebome, Rosebank and Newlands stations were now operational.
Maseko said only a Saturday service from Retreat to Cape Town was offered without a shuttle service running from Fish Hoek.
Due to level1 restrictions, they would not operate a Sunday service until the demand warranted.
He said train capacity had been increased to 70%, and the number of single and return tickets available for sale were adjusted accordingly.
“We urge commuters to help us maintain the status quo as regulations are relaxed, and to continue taking responsibility to prevent the transmission of the virus,” Maseko said.
United Commuters Voice spokesperson João Jardim said they were tired of repeating themselves to the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) and the Transport Department.
Jardim acknowledged that stations had been added, but said the infrastructure “was so badly damaged that Metrorail kept cancelling the service”.
He said Prasa/Metrorail and Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula were responsible for the rapid decline of the entity as well as the shoddy service.
Jardim said Mbalula and Prasa management were not caring for the backbone of the working class.
United National Transport Union spokesperson Sonja Carstens said they did not believe that Prasa was making any progress, nor were they stepping in the right direction.
“Prasa promised us that by October 1 all its operational routes that were operating before the lockdown would operate again, but we see that has failed,” Carstens said.
Cape Argus