Phantsi, tsotsis! Fikile Mbalula hears from train commuters in Cape Town

Newly appointed transport minister Fikile Mbalula rode an early morning train from Khayelitsha to Langa in Cape Town on Tuesday, describing it as "a skeleton of its former self due to vandalism and theft".

"This is a crisis," he said. "It is clear to see that there are problems within the entire structure of this transport system."

"... We will increase safety on trains and protection of trains," he pledged.

Mbalula said his interventions would be different from previous programmes, which he described as ad hoc and unsustainable.

Mbalula said that allocating "real" security guards to trains was an imperative, and that he had spoken with police minister Bheki Cele about offering more resources to improve rail security.

"We all need to work together to fix this problem," he said. "Bheki Cele and Prasa [Passenger Rail Agency of SA], and RSR [the railway safety regulator], all need to communicate with me for us to solve this issue."

Commuters on the line told the minister of their dissatisfaction with crime.

"We are not safe, especially women," said one commuter.

The passengers said their phones and bags are being robbed "on a daily basis".

"These guys are just taking our stuff, carrying knives and guns." 

Sharing more about his experience, Mbalula said: "Every day, people on these trains have to wait up to two hours to get to work, where they are then dismissed [for coming late]."

"We need to have a service that people can rely on."

Mbalula said he had also accepted a memorandum from Unite Behind, a civil society campaign that focuses on fixing the SA train crisis among other issues, as well as from parents worried about going to work and about their children going to school.

"The rail network in Cape Town has not done a good job for our people. This we need to change and we will."