NATIONAL NEWS - Following Metrorail’s announcement that the Southern Line would be out of service for at least a week due to vandalism, the DA in the Western Cape is extremely concerned regarding the impact this will have on residents who are dependent on public transport. 

This comes less than two weeks after vandalism incidents have halted various services on the Northern Line.

MPP Mackenzie says: “Officials currently estimate that the damage inflicted on the Fish Hoek section of the Southern Line stands at R1 million. 

Despite continuous reassurance from PRASA and Metrorail that their turnaround strategy is sound and being implemented, we continue to see how the prevalence of criminality in our communities is denying residents access to reliable transport. 

Criminal activity is one of several reasons why the Western Cape’s weekday train services have decreased from 444 per day to just 151 per day since 2019.

The culmination of these events means that the Province is on a precipice of having no rail transport whatsoever. Even though there has been a greater reliance on bus and taxi transport alternatives, this doesn’t mean that we can allow our rail services to continue to decline. 

Many commuters are in dire need of trains as they offer the most affordable means of travel. In addition to written questions I’ve submitted regarding the Northern Line issues, I will be asking similar parliamentary questions to the provincial Minister of Transport and Public Works in this regard.”

The DA in the Western Cape remains committed to assisting our national counterparts to restoring our public transport infrastructure to operational capacity. 

This is why we are the only province to have signed an MOU with PRASA in 2019 in order to help bring about change needed in this sector. It is of great disappointment that we see their side of the bargain not being upheld.

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