A commuter was electrocuted on a Metrorail train at Nyanga station on Thursday morning.
Metrorail confirmed the death. Photographs on Facebook show the man lying face down on top of the train. His name has not been released.
In a statement‚ Metrorail Western Cape Regional Manager Richard Walker appealed to commuters not to “put their lives at risk by travelling on top of the train‚ hanging onto the outside of the train or travelling in front of the drivers”.
“It is dangerous and commuters who do so‚ risk life and limb as this tragedy proved.”
The statement also said trains would be delayed by an hour at least as a result of the death.
According to the Railway Safety Regulator‚ 495 people died on trains in South Africa in the 2016/17 year‚ and 2‚095 were injured. The Western Cape had the second highest numbers of fatalities and injuries‚ after Gauteng.
Mayoral Committee Member for Transport and Urban Development Brett Herron was on the train on which the man was electrocuted. Herron was taking a train from Khayelitsha to Cape Town to “experience for himself the conditions thousands of rail commuters face on a daily basis”.
This is the train we couldn’t get on. Note people on the roof. We’ve caught up with it. It’s been evacuated. Apparently a roof top passenger was electrocuted and died. It is stationary & empty at Nyanga and we are stuck too. #TrainStories Tragic. pic.twitter.com/fmeqOfownb — Brett Herron (@brettherron) November 30‚ 2017