PICS AND VIDEO: Current state of Joburg train stations

Will cost billions to repair

A general view of what used to be a Prasa office at Germiston Station, 15 September 2020. Picture: Michel Bega

Last week the minister of transport, Fikile Mbalula, conceded that it was ‘ineptness’ in running the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) that led to the extensive pillaging and destruction of railway infrastructure that will cost at least R4-billion to repair. The Citizen multimedia team, photographer Michel Bega and videographer Carlos Muchave, visited a number of stations around Johannesburg – from Germiston to Soweto – to see the current state of affairs.

: A general view of what used to be a Prasa office at Germiston Station, 15 September 2020. Picture: Michel Bega

: Coaches parked at Park Station in Johannesburg, 14 April 2020 during lockdown. Picture: Michel Bega

: A section of the tracks outside Germiston Station – as can be seen the overhead cables are gone, 15 September 2020. Picture: Michel Bega

: General views of Kliptown Station, 15 September 2020. In the new play Mbalula indicated increased visibility from the South African Police Service and Prasa protection officers will be implemented at hotspots. Picture: Michel Bega.

: A view of damaged infrastructure on the platform at the Cleveland Station, 15 September 2020. Picture: Michel Bega

: General views of the George Goch Station, 10 September 2020, as it experiences rampant theft of cables and steel surrounding the train railway network. Picture: Michel Bega

: The remains of a Prasa office situated near Germiston Station, 15 September 2020. A business owner near-by explained that people have now started stealing the bricks. Picture: Michel Bega

: A general view of Cleveland Station, 15 September 2020. A nearby business owner explains that vandals are stripping this station in broad daylight, and unfortunately numerous calls to the police have resulted in no response. Picture: Michel Bega

: The entrance to a Prasa office in White Street near Germiston Station, 15 September 2020. Speaking to a staff member at a near-by business, he explained that the offices were regularly used before lockdown, and then over the space of a few weeks the offices were stripped and now stand in ruins. Picture: Michel Bega