25 000 east train commuters stranded
“As a company we move approximately 25 000 commuters daily on the Pienaarspoort line, this number excludes children who depend on the trains to get to school.”
Trains have since Monday been non-operational in the east of Pretoria due to an Eskom mechanical failure.
Metrorail spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng said that 25 000 commuters per day on the Pienaarspoort to Pretoria and Mamelodi Gardens to Pretoria routes were affected.
The cause is understood to be a blown transformer.
“Metrorail Gauteng has not been able to render train services for the past few days and this equates to 28 train trips cancelled daily,” said Mofokeng.
“As a company we move approximately 25 000 commuters daily on the Pienaarspoort line, this number excludes children who depend on the trains to get to school.
“Although we have been using several platforms to communicate with our loyal commuters, we cannot take lightly the impact that this unfortunate situation of suspending train services has on the customers’ pockets. Trains are mass movers and very affordable.”
She said that Eskom had reported a component failure at the weekend which resulted in no power supply to Metrorail’s substations.
#Pienaarspoort
UpdatePlease note: Eskom power supply is still off.
No trains this afternoon and tomorrow morning until the Eskom team manages to repair the faultCommuters are advised to seek alternative transportation until further notice
— Metrorail Gauteng (@MetrorailGP) April 24, 2023
Mofokeng said Metrorail technical teams were engaging with Eskom technicians but by Friday there had been no positive outcome.
She said the rail enterprise remained hopeful that Eskom would resolve the problem and restore power to bring back the much-needed train service to the people of Mamelodi.
We are now signing out
Thank you so much for traveling with Metrorail Gauteng
Pienaarspoort commuters we will announce when the Eskom power is restored and trains are ready to resume operations #BeSafe pic.twitter.com/8ErilZz2Hh— Metrorail Gauteng (@MetrorailGP) April 24, 2023
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