East London - Angry Eastern Cape train commuters, who set a Metrorail coach alight because the train was delayed, will now have to do without a train for a week.
The decision to suspend train services between East London and Berlin, about 50km outside East London, was taken by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) group CEO, Lucky Montana and Metrorail CEO for Rail Operations, Mosenngwa Mofi, after a coach gutted was burnt on Wednesday night.
"Metrorail can't afford to bear the cost of ongoing malicious damage to its property, especially through the burning of our trains. Any costs will be transferred to commuters to deter any future occurrences and to instill a sense of respect for our assets," said Mofi.
The coach was set alight when the train stopped at Dawn station, just outside East London, for nearly half an hour. The locomotive pulling the packed commuter train broke down and a replacement had to be sent from East London.
Mabhuti Mdlungu, who uses the train daily to get to work and back, said the train service was often halted because of faulty locomotives.
"People lose patience with these trains and some get angry, but setting your only means of transport alight is not a good idea," said Mdlungu.
Metrorail's Eastern Cape regional manager, Mthura Swartz, refuted Mdlungu's claims, saying that despite the aging infrastructure and rolling stock, 95% of trains in the province arrive on time, outperforming regions like Gauteng.
"The Eastern Cape service performance was not in question during this incident. This was just blatant disregard for our assets and the safety of other commuters onboard," said Swartz.
As a result of the suspension, hundreds of commuters were left stranded on Thursday, having to rely on buses and taxis to get to work. Swartz said the service between Berlin and East London will resume on August 8 after Metrorail has assessed the damage and repaired the line and the coach.
Police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi said a case of malicious damage to property had been reported but that no-one has yet been arrested.
He appealed to anyone with information to contact either Metrorail on (043) 700-2626, or the nearest police station.
