Cape Town - The ANC in the Western Cape has called on national government to deal with security problems which led to Metrorail suspending its central line indefinitely, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded.
Western Cape ANC acting chairperson Khaya Magaxa said: “We need to put pressure on the national government to put more money and improve the quality of Metrorail services.
“They must employ security companies to patrol and protect those using these services against thieves,” said Magaxa.
Read: Metrorail faces complete collapse, says union federation
Metrorail suspended its services with no trains operating on the Chris Hani - Kapteinsklip and Bishop Lavis lines.
The agency said continuous vandalism, cable theft and the continuous destruction of infrastructure have brought the trains to a halt.
Metrorail in the Western Cape says it spent R60 million annually on repair and maintenance and R12 million per month on security issues includes the guards.
Hundreds of people are queued at Bellville taxi rank trying to make their way to Cape Town on Monday. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency/ANA
Also read: PICS: Metrorail suspends Central line trains 'until further notice'
The rail service is putting other projects on hold to fund the building of a concrete wall at a cost of R68 million to secure the network from Langa to Bonteheuwel and Netreg to Heideveld.
Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security JP Smith said they are working closely with metrorail to use the City’s policing to improve security of the trains.
“We have reached out to PRASA and said that the security on the trains is a major detractor for the ability of the train to run properly both for commuter safety and vandalism on the train.
“We believe that we have solution in terms of our program which will take the current funding on security and use it for law enforcement to work for the train,” said Smith.