Metro Rail delays leave commuters fuming
Train commuters were once again left in the dark after the train they were travelling in stopped unexpectedly on its way to the Delmor station, after departing from the George Goch station on November 14.
“The trains have been problematic. It is not the first time such an incident occurred,” said Mrs Dora Mothiba, who works as a domestic worker in Kensington and lives in Delmor.
She uses the train daily to commute from home to work. She says on October 31, she experienced the same problem as she tried to get to work in the morning.
“We received letters from Metro Rail explaining to our employers the reasons for our late arrival at work,” said Mrs Mothiba.
Her employer, Mrs Sandi van Tonder, said this was unacceptable as Mrs Mothiba, a mother of two, only arrived home at 11.15pm the previous work day.
“She is a mother of two children who are in school writing exams. It is unacceptable that they must go to sleep not knowing where their mother is,” she said.
Mrs Mothiba said the delays were so long that other commuters left the train to look for alternative ways to get home.
“It’s a good thing I have an understanding employer, who is accessible when I have problems. What about other people whose employers are less understanding?” asked Mrs Mothiba.
She said she wants to highlight this problem for other commuters who encounter the same problem.
She said employers must try to understand when employees have the same excuse everyday.
“It’s not always their fault, so much is dependent on the train getting you there safely and on time,” said Mrs Mothiba.
She said it saddened her that she was unable to revise the school work with her children before they could write their exams.
“Emmanuel (11) and Precious (10) know we usually go over the work before they write, so I missed the opportunity that other parents had,” she said. Mrs van Tonder said Mrs Mothiba is part of the family.
“She has been with us for 13 years and not once has she disappointed me. She’s a part of us and when she suffers, we all suffer with her,” said Mrs van Tonder.
She said in future, Mrs Mothiba must call them and they will find her should this happen again. She said Mrs Mothiba’s safety comes first.
“They treat me well, I’m lucky to have them as a part of my family. They even get my children gifts for their birthdays and treat them as if they are their own children,” said Mrs Mothiba.
Mrs van Tonder said when Mrs Mothiba told her the story the next day, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. “It is totally unacceptable for a woman to be stranded at a train station at night, with children and a husband waiting at home. Commuters were not even given reasons for the stoppage,” she said.
Metro Rail Spokesperson, Ms Lillian Mofokeng, confirmed the problems with the train. “We experienced punctuality challenges on the afternoon of November 14. Train number 0659 was faulty at the Johannesburg station and tripped the overhead power.
“At the Doornfontein station there is maintenance occupation and only one line open towards Germiston. This contributed to the bottleneck at the Johannesburg station to get trains through. To add to this, tracks were out at Driehoek and trains had to be manually authorised for safety reasons, which took more time and contributed to the frustration of ourselves and our commuters,” said Ms Mofokeng.
She said the PA system at George Goch is operational and announcements were made according to information received. “When a train is stuck in a section, however, no announcements can be made as there is no PA system on board trains. During major service disruptions, additional security guards are deployed at critical points,” said Ms Mofokeng.
