Cape Town - More than 2000 incidents of contact crimes on railways were recorded by the Rapid Rail Police for the 2018/19 financial year.
The statistics recorded a slight decrease of 176 incidents - from 2381 in 2017/18 to 2205 in 2018/19.
The crimes were categorised as murder, attempted murder, sexual offences, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, as well as aggravated
and common robberies.
UniteBehind organiser Zukie Vuka said the statistics were questionable because there were no reporting
mechanisms for commuters to report crime.
He said the number of passengers have also dropped dramatically due to the deterioration of the service.
Vuka said they demanded properly trained security guards on trains and at the stations, operated on legitimate contracts.
The statistics formed part of the report released on Tuesday by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula and the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR).
United Commuters Voice (UCV) spokesperson Joao Jardim said the data was not a true reflection of crime in the passenger railway sector.
“As an example, over 200 people have been robbed on a moving train on the central line. That is not taking into account the pick pocketing happening every day at various hotspot stations such as Bellville, Mutual, Bonteheuwel, Langa, Nyanga, Parow, Woodstock and Goodwood,” he said.
Transport MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela said a partnership between the Passenger Rail Agency of SA and the City of Cape Town Council already made a significant contribution to improving safety and security on the commuter rail system, by establishing the Rail Enforcement Unit (REU).
“This has come at a cost of R16million a year to each of the three partners. The contract has been extended from July 1 for a further 12 months.
“In line with this government’s commitment to evidence-based policies, we will be assessing the impact of the work of the REU and adjusting its operations if and where necessary,” Madikizela said.
Mbalula said improving the state of affairs on the railways remained government’s top priority.
Mbalula said as part of his first 100 days in office, his aim was to ensure that he curbs train delays and safety on the trains was improved.
"Where we marked 100 days, we launched what we call the War Room. The War Room is looking at all other aspects in relation to the deficiencies in passenger rail in particular."
He said in terms of safety, "we are going to bring a new security arrangement on the trains. Our envisaged situation is that these people will be trained in terms of crowd control and combat reaction because there are crooks who are stealing cables and doing all sorts of things, so we must be combat ready".
He said the police will assist them in terms of training for that security component.
"We cannot sit back and fold our arms while the state of safety in our railways remains dire. We must redouble our efforts to turn the tide and ensure that the massive investments in rail infrastructure result in tangible improvements in safety,” Mbalula said.