The deployment of Cape Town’s newly formed Rail Enforcement Unit, tasked with protecting the metro’s besieged train infrastructure, has once again been delayed due to national government’s red tape.

Cape Town’s embattled rail infrastructure is in dire need of urgent intervention. MetroRail has lost over 150 trains to arson attacks and vandalism in the last three years. As a result of this attack on the City’s railways, MetroRail has been left with less than 40 functioning trains to service the region.

Cape Town MetroRail nearing collapse

Richard Walker, the Western Cape Regional Manager at MetroRail, reported that the fleet had been dwindled down to less than half of what is needed to provide adequate transport to commuters. Walker commented on the cost of damages, saying:

“We are looking at R300 million just in damages to the coaches since 2015. The rate in which we are losing our coaches it is far exceeding our ability to bring them back and that is a major concern.”

Cape Town mayoral committee member for transport and urban development, Councillor Brett Herron, is adamant that these attacks are motivated by something, or someone, that stands to profit from MetroRail’s destruction.

In an attempt to stave off further onslaught, the City of Cape Town recently reached an agreement with the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) to deploy a team of ‘railway police’. Unfortunately, Prasa has been fighting its own legal battles with the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR), which have led to delays in the deployment of the Rail Enforcement Unit.

Prasa delays launch of the Rail Enforcement Unit

While Prasa’s safety permit has been temporarily reissued, delays persist in the Rail Enforcement Unit’s deployment. The team was due to hit the ground running on Thursday, but according to the mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, Prasa has, once again, halted the launch.

This time, the organisation postponed the introduction due to the transport minister’s unavailability to attend the ceremony. Smith explained the latest false-start to EWN, saying: