Burnt trains to cost Metrorail R4m

The cost of damage done to two Metrorail trains at Pretoria railway station is estimated at R4 million, Lillian Mofokeng said.

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The cost of damage done to two Metrorail trains at Pretoria railway station on Tuesday night is estimated at R4 million, according to spokeswoman Lillian Mofokeng.

Commuters torched five coaches of the Metroplus and two of the Business Express to vent their frustration about trains which arrived late.

Both trains were stationary at the time of the incident and one of them was about to depart from Pretoria to Joburg.

Mofokeng said the extent of the damage was quantified on the night of the incident.

She said four suspects were arrested, but police said there was only one arrest for malicious damage to property.

Said police spokeswoman Augustinah Selepe: “Our records show that only one person was arrested and he has appeared in court. Unfortunately, I am not in possession of the information about the court outcome.”

Mofokeng said the situation had been restored to normality.

On Monday, train services were suspended in Springs, Daveyton and Dunswart corridor as a result of increasing intimidation and assaults by commuters on train drivers and metro guards.

Metrorail Gauteng has condemned what it described as growing incidents of assault directed towards staff members across Gauteng.

The organisation threatened to suspend its services if such behaviour continued.

Metrorail has expressed sympathy with the concerns of commuters around train service challenges within the system.

However, it said the destruction of property was in no way complementary to the solving of the problems.

Metrorail has acknowledged that it was experiencing challenges, including old infrastructure and old trains, which have led to delays.

Metrorail said 67 of its drivers and Metro guards had been attacked in Gauteng since November last year. Security has been beefed up to protect drivers against violent behaviour.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

Pretoria News Weekend