Nzimande visit won't stop Cape Town train saboteurs‚ says union

The main Metrorail union says Transport Minister Blade Nzimande’s visit to Cape Town on Friday will do nothing to stop saboteurs torching trains.

Nzimande is due to visit the Metrorail depot in Paarden Island before “engaging various stakeholders in the rail sector including political formations”.

But the United National Transport Union said Nzimande had ignored its pleas to appoint a task team to investigate the arson attacks.

Untu general secretary Steve Harris said the “blatant sabotage” had left Metrorail with just 40 of the 88 trains it needed to run an efficient commuter rail service in Cape Town.

“This means that overcrowding of trains and the delays of the service become worse with every passing minute‚” he said.

Harris said Nzimande was also expected to visit Cape Town Station‚ where six carriages were destroyed by fire on Saturday.

“The union cannot see the purpose of the visit. His time could have been better spent seeking solutions with all stakeholders to bring a halt to the repeated arson attacks.”

Untu said it had asked for an urgent meeting with Nzimande on February 28 but had yet to receive a reply.

“More than a million workers in the Western Cape have no other alternative but to rely on trains to get them to and from work. The person or persons behind the arson attacks are taking bread out of the mouths of the families they have to feed‚” said Harris.

“To date there have been six incidents where train coaches belonging to Prasa in the Western Cape have been torched with a substance while they were approaching stations. Every time‚ the same modus operandi is used.”

City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for transport Brett Herron said he would join Nzimande at Paarden Island‚ adding that the transport minister had “cleared his diary” to travel to Cape Town after a train fire at Retreat station on Thursday.

A transport ministry statement said: “The ninister’s visit follows the commitment made during the Department of Transport budget vote presentation that he will convene a series of stakeholder meetings which will include the Passenger Rail Agency of SA‚ the City of Cape Town‚ trade unions‚ municipal councillors and political formations.

“These meetings are aimed at monitoring progress in the implementation of projects aimed at modernising and improving rail services in the Western Cape and Cape Town in particular.  The meetings also seek to forge partnerships with stakeholders to improve Metrorail services in the Western Cape.”