Hundreds of Soshanguve and Mabopane train commuters were left stranded when a train derailed in Pretoria North on Wednesday after community members blocked the railway lines as part of a service delivery protest.
Metrorail spokesperson, Tony Games, said the passenger train derailed at around 04:30. Community members from an informal settlement situated between Akasia and Kopanong in Soshanguve allegedy blocked Metrorail railway lines to Mabopane with rocks and burning tyres, and damaged the Metrorail signalling equipment such as cables, signals and signal boxes.
The derailed Metrorail passenger train caused the other trains travelling between Ga-Rankuwa and Pretoria to come to a stop for the better part of the day. Many residents of Soshanguve and Mabopane who rely on the trains for transportation to Pretoria North and the Pretoria CBD were left stranded for hours as the lines in the Mabopane corridor were temporarily closed and rendered unsafe for running trains. Other trains, especially those going to the Ga-Rankuwa and De Welt areas, could not use the tracks until the site was cleared.
“The community is protesting against service delivery-related issues. This behaviour has severely affected trains going to Mabopane. Trains were turning around Akasiaboom Station. Our duty as Metrorail is to protect our employees, commuters and assets. We are appealing to the community not to endanger the lives of innocent commuters going home by interrupting the normal train service,” said Games.
A host of residents from Mabopane, Soshanguve and surrounding areas had no choice but to form big queues at the nearest taxi ranks. Others patiently waited on the train platforms with the hope of getting a train ride, but to no avail. The protest caused much frustration. One of the train commuters who spoke to Record, James Maloka, said that the derailing had cost them heavily, as they had to spend a lot of money for transport to work and back home. Maloka added that they were left stranded at the Pretoria North station without any explanation from Metrorail officials. “It was very bad for some of us because we had to spend a lot of money on taxis. Imagine those who went to the station without any money in their pockets, it’s obvious they didn’t go to work,” he commented.
Stanley Molapo from Soshanguve South said he and his friends had to walk long a distance to Pretoria North via the railway tracks because they had no money. “When we reached the Pretoria North station we saw that the trains were not operating very well. One Metrorail official told us that there would be buses to Mabopane, but I doubt if those buses were fully operational,” he said.
Games said that the police had been called to the scene and a Metrorail technical team was deployed to the area to remove the stones, burning tyres and rubble from the lines. “No one was injured when the train derailed. The technical team will also assess the damage on the lines with a view to repairing them,” he said. He appealed to commuters to make alternative transport arrangements where possible.
siphod@rekord.co.za
