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Transport Minister dreams of bullets trains ... but commuters want Metrorail to work now

27th June 2019

By: News24Wire

  

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To see first-hand what commuters face in the Western Cape, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula planned to take a train from Khayelitsha to Langa on Tuesday morning. The trip did not go as planned, reports GroundUp.

After a long delay and with further delays expected because of two deaths on the central line, Mbalula abandoned commuters and used his ministerial escort instead to get to Langa.

Here, he engaged with the media and civil society organisations.

However, the Western Cape government said it was "disappointed" he had not engaged with it.

#UNITEBEHIND
Members of #UniteBehind door-stepped Mbalula as soon as he made his way onto the platform at Chris Hani station in Khayelitsha.

"Rail commuters have been let down by empty promises and an absence of clear plans to fix the broken rail system," the commuter activist group said in a statement.

It added that deaths occurred due to "overcrowding, failing infrastructure and violent crime", saying women were also being harassed and sexually assaulted. "Delays and cancellations were causing workers to lose their jobs and pupils to lose school time."

The organisation demanded that Mbalula:

Declare the commuter rail services a national disaster.

Establish a skilled and ethical board with a commuter representative.

Charge all those involved in state capture.

Establish a safety and security plan for commuters.

Set out a clear six-month plan to bring 2 000 damaged coaches back into operation.

Reimburse train tickets after delays.

#UniteBehind said that the minister had promised to meet with it.

UNITED COMMUTERS VOICE (UCV)
The chairperson of the UCV, Yvonne Dick, brought Mbalula's attention to the long-distance Worcester line. Dick explained that people travelling by train from Worcester are very poor, so alternative transport was not an option. She said a taxi from Belville to Worcester could cost R110 one-way, whereas the train was R23.

Dick added that a train leaving Cape Town at 16:50 sometimes only reached Worcester the next day after 03:00, and then by 04:40, the same worker had to be back on the train to return to the city.

She said there was no potable water on the train and only two toilets.

Among UVC's demands are that the City of Cape Town be pushed to implement a by-law to stop the purchase of stolen cables; and that there be better training for Prasa officials and staff on how to assist commuters.

SOUTH AFRICAN TRANSPORT AND ALLIED WORKERS UNION

The provincial secretary of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), Tembela Dakuse, expressed concern that only one person had been found accountable for the burning of trains.

Among Satawu's demands are that workers, including security and cleaners, not be privatised. The union believes this will save money.

It is also demanding the removal of Richard Walker, the Western Cape regional head for Prasa, saying he is unable to deal with the parastatal's structural problems.

Dakuse said trains in wealthier neighbourhoods had better security and services were more reliable, adding that the "black and coloured working class in this province are paying the cost".

WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
The Western Cape provincial government issued a statement saying that it was pleased with the minister's investigation into the commuter rail service, but it was "disappointed that he did not seek to engage provincial leadership during his visit".

In the statement, Premier Alan Winde said it was important that Mbalula experienced the frustration of commuters, however, he would "go back to being driven in his ministerial vehicle" while commuters continued to face delays.

He said building partnerships across the government was "essential to ensuring effective service delivery".

MINISTER WANTS BULLET TRAINS
Mbalula told Parliament during the State of the Nation (SoNA) debate, on Tuesday: "I have set out a set of urgent interventions needed to return the central line service into an efficient, trusted and safe service."

Echoing President Cyril Ramaphosa's SoNA, Mbalula spoke more about the vision of high-speed trains connecting Gauteng to Cape Town and elsewhere than he did on his Metrorail experience earlier that morning.

"High-speed rail could be feasible - in this sixth administration we shall commission a full feasibility study and financing models to achieve this collective dream.

"It is an economic stimulant, it is a new city and town creator, it is an enabler and multiplier, it is an important tool toward a cleaner air strategy and indeed in speeding up our intended transitioning from road to rail and from air to rail … president, no South African should have a problem with an introduction of rail network to Musina and Buffalo City, as you said in your address," he said.

"PRASA will be back on track," Mbalula told the joint sitting of Parliament in the National Assembly.

Edited by News24Wire

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