Cape Town – Shosholoza Meyl passengers have complained of being stuck at the derelict Prince Albert Road station in the Western Cape without explanation.
What was supposed to be a 20-hour journey to Cape Town has turned into an ordeal, with complaints of train doors being locked due to safety concerns, blocked toilets and a lack of food and water.
The train left Johannesburg on Sunday and was meant to arrive in Cape Town yesterday, but has been stuck at Prince Albert Road since Monday night due to locomotive failure.
What exacerbated the situation was that one of its rescue coaches broke down en route last night, EWN reported.
The situation was complicated even further by work being done on train lines, which only reopened in the early hours on Tuesday, and delayed other coaches being sent.
The train service said it was also arranging buses to ferry passengers to Cape Town.
“Passengers have been informed that there’s a loco on the way to Prince Albert and they will depart at 10am to arrive in Cape Town at 20:00. It’s one of those incidents where you don’t plan,” Shosholoza Meyl spokesperson Daisy Daniel said.
A male passenger on the train told EWN: "The situation is quite dire, we don’t have water on the train, the toilets are stuck and we can’t even take a bath."
Mornique Mellem posted on Facebook yesterday: "I have family stuck on the Shosholoza Meyl train. Which left Klerksdorp yesterday afternoon.
"They're 28 hours into a 20 hour journey. Train doors have been locked, which is a safety issue and limits fresh air.
"Toilets are blocked. People are running out of food and water. Train management is giving them the runaround.
"They cannot get a hold of Shosholoza Meyl or Prasa. They are waiting on a locomotive to arrive, which is meant to only get there in the morning."
This occurred a day after the torching of 24 Shosholoza Meyl coaches in Bloemfontein. The old coaches were out of service and earmarked for refurbishment when they were set alight, causing an estimated R90 million worth of damages.
In July last year, the journey of passengers on board the Shosholoza Meyl from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg had to be extended after they spent almost the whole day stuck near Bloemfontein after the train broke down.
One passenger claimed Shosholoza Meyl undertook the journey with a malfunctioning locomotive.
In October 2018, the Shosholoza Meyl train from Johannesburg broke down multiple times during the journey, with passengers complaining that they ran out of food and water.