Cape Town passengers will be the first to clap eyes on Prasa’s new fleet of trains.
According to sources, the unveiling of the mock-up trains would be held at the Cape Town station, Platform 24 on 2 April, by Transport Minister Blade Nzimande, reported the Cape Argus.
A single coach will be used to demonstrate the train’s new and unique features to the public.
These features include CCTV cameras, on-board communications between the driver and commuters, emergency communications for disabled passengers and air conditioning.
United National Transport Union spokesperson Sonja Carstens said they were excited to receive the news and were glad to hear that the new stock would be deployed in the Western Cape.
Carstens said according to the information they had received, the train would be safe.
United Commuters Voice spokesperson Joao Jardim said the new trains would be here only for testing.
“As we all know, there were issues that need to be dealt with in Metrorail or Prasa, such as commuter buy-in and vandalism, among a myriad of other issues,” Jardim said.
One issue faced by Metrorail was the rolling out of CCTV cameras at Prasa properties.
In October, Rapid Rail Police Unit head Bonginkosi Solucotho said CCTV cameras at Prasa properties across the province had not been operational since 2015.
Metrorail said this week it had 2817 CCTV cameras installed at 41 stations, of which 776 were not functional.
ANA