Cape Town - Plans to take over Cape Town’s commuter rail network by the City have been slammed by critics, with its request falling on deaf ears.
The City recently renewed its stance after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the national government intended to introduce reforms in the rail sector by bringing in thirdparty operators and competition.
Transport Mayco member Rob Quintas said for the past five years the City has been appealing to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula for the necessary permissions that would allow it to begin a process of taking over from the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa).
“In 2018, the City intended to appoint a multidisciplinary team of specialists to assist the transport directorate with the undertaking, saying Prasa was failing to provide an efficient and safe rail network for commuters.
“The near-nuclear implosion of passenger rail in Cape Town is all too well documented and experienced.”
Quintas said about 570 000 passenger trips a day have either moved from passenger rail to road-based transport modes, or those passengers were no longer economically active.
He said Capetonians had deserted the trains because the service was unreliable, unpredictable and unsafe.
“It also came at a huge cost to our local economy because of the impact on productivity. Passenger rail should be the backbone of our public transport system,” he said.
“We are looking forward to engaging the national government about the announcement. Cape Town is ready to ensure its residents have access to a reliable and affordable, efficient passenger rail service and we have been trying to make this happen for several years now,” he said.
SA National Civic Organisation provincial chairperson Bongikhaya
Qhama said “this is the City of Cape Town administration’s attempt to score cheap politics at the expense of service delivery.
Qhama said if the City failed to roll out the MyCiTi bus transport in large townships like Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, how was it possible that it could bring about change at Metrorail?
Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda said the entity’s primary mandate was to run trains. She said any discussions on devolving the service were premature and not within their ambit to discuss policy matters.
Mbalula’s special adviser, Lawrence Venkile, said the minister was on record on the interventions required to position passenger rail as a backbone of the public transport system.
Venkile said these included structural reforms that would see concessions being introduced for private operators in respect of both freight and passenger rail.
He said those issues were addressed in the draft White Paper on Rail Policy that had been in the making for a few years. “This policy will be tabled before Cabinet soon and will give certainty on the envisaged structural reforms in South Africa’s rail system. The City of Cape Town has never engaged with Mbalula on this matter,” Venkile said.
In 2018, the City launched the Rail Enforcement Unit (REU) to improve safety and rail infrastructure.
The REU was jointly funded by the City, the Western Cape government and Prasa. It provided an additional 100 law enforcement officers to assist
Metrorail with security challenges.
Those included sustained attacks on the rail infrastructure and rolling stock assets, the sabotage of the urban rail network, and criminals targeting commuters and rail employees.
The REU was terminated on June 30 last year because, according to the City, Prasa was no longer willing to fund or make a financial contribution.
ANC transport spokesperson Lulama Mvimbi said: “The City’s intentions of taking over or running the rail service are not in good faith. They are just being opportunistic.
“Yes, the REU was a good intergovernmental initiative that made a difference. But even there, the City always had something to complain about, pinpointing weaknesses instead of bringing solutions.”
sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za