The City of Cape Town on Wednesday approved the training and deployment of 100 law enforcement officers to protect rail infrastructure which has come under attack in the last few weeks.
Officers will start working at the end of September.
The set-up cost of R48 million is being shared equally by Prasa, the City and the provincial government, and recruitment of staff has already started.
Part of it is to provide vehicles and equipment, while around R25m is expected to be used for staffing costs.
Thus far only one suspect has been arrested for arson.
Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Development and Transport, said Metrorail has about 37 train sets while 88 are needed.
“Metrorail’s train fleet in the Western Cape has lost a staggering 149 carriages from May 2015 to date, with the cost of the last two arson attacks alone amounting to R51 million,” he says.
“We now know that many commuters have moved on to road transport and that is why we have seen the dramatic increase in congestion.”