Sinister forces are said to be at work after Metrorail trains were set alight for the THIRD time in just eight days.
It is believed arsonists are behind yet another fire at Cape Town Train Station on Saturday afternoon.
Mayoral Committee Member for Transport and Urban Development, Brett Herron, says they believe criminals are out to sabotage the Cape’s rail system.
Last Saturday, seven train carriages were destroyed, and seven more damaged when two trains caught alight at platforms 15 and 16 at Cape Town station.
Several carriages were also damaged when a fire broke out on a train at Retreat Train Station on Thursday.
“Our commuter rail system is under relentless attack and this is clearly not opportunistic crime, but a well orchestrated programme of sabotage,” said Herron.
“The damage Metrorail suffered last week will cost
R50 million to repair and takes a number of trains out of service.”
He said the latest attack will further add to the costs and reduce train capacity.
“The line most affected is the Central Line which serves the Metro-South East and is by far the line that has the highest passenger demand.
“That line is already operating at a fraction of its capacity,” Herron said.
Fire and Rescue Services spokesman, Theo Layne, said three fire engines, a water tanker, a rescue vehicle and 19 firefighters responded to the scene at 5.40pm on Saturday.
“Two railway carriages were alight at platform 13, but no injuries were reported,” Layne said.
Herron says the attacks on Metrorail are deliberate, and about 140 carriages were lost to fires in the last three years.
“(As a result) hundreds of thousands of commuters have been displaced from the rail network onto our road system. Road-based public transport is under-resourced, less efficient and more expensive,” he said.
On Friday, Herron was joined by Transport Minister Blade Nzimande, Transport MEC Donald Grant and SAPS at Prasa to discuss the attacks.
They inspected the damage to trains at the Salt River Rail Yard. Herron urged anyone with information about the fires to contact the police.