In the early hours of this morning, I received distressing news of vicious acts of vandalism carried out by criminals on Metrorail infrastructure. These vandals reportedly butchered signal cables at the busy section between Philippi and Nyanga, adversely affecting the train service between Nyanga and Khayelitsha/ Chris Hani and Kapteinsklip/ Mitchells Plain.
The Western Cape Government condemns such acts of vandalism in the strongest terms. The perpetrators of these very serious crimes must be made to face the full might of the law. We will support all efforts to ensure that this happens, and that these criminals are brought to book for their crimes. Their acts have not only threatened the provision of reliable public transport to the hundreds of thousands that use trains daily in and around the City, but have also threatened the safety of commuters; obstructed signalling systems can have deadly consequences as trains rely on them to transport their commuters safely and on time to their destinations.
I have been in contact with Metrorail, the City of Cape Town, and Golden Arrow Bus Services, during the course of the morning, and we are working together to ease the burden on affected commuters until normal service is restored.
Anyone with information that would lead to these vandals being apprehended must contact their nearest police station. Metrorail has doubled its reward to R50 000 for any information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.
Media enquiries:
Siphesihle Dube, Spokesperson for the MEC of Transport and Public Works, Donald Grant
Cell: 084 233 3811
Tel: 021 483 8954
Fax: 021 483 2217
E-mail: Siphesihle.Dube@westerncape.gov.za
