The Passenger Rail Agency (PRASA) says it is optimistic that the City of Cape Town will not cut electricity supply to train stations and other facilities.
PRASA made these comments ahead of a meeting between the agency and the City to discuss a R114 million electricity debt.
The City of Cape Town had given PRASA until the weekend to pay its debt or face a disconnection of services by Monday.
Late last month, thousands of commuters were left stranded in Cape Town after Eskom cut electricity supply to PRASA’s train operations due to an unpaid electricity bill.
PRASA spokesperson Makhosini Mgitywa says they are making arrangements to pay off the debt.
“We have requested a meeting with them, where they are going to be met by the PRASA administrators. We are optimistic that during those engagements they are going to find each other. The City has said if we don’t pay by Friday they will cut us off today (Monday).”
“We are optimistic they will not cut us off, because I think they will appreciate that even though the power that is going to be cut off is not power to the trains – it is power to the stations, among other facilities…” adds Mgitywa.
PRASA has been broken over time, people’s money stolen that was meant for upgrades, maintenance, more trains and general operations of our trains.
Even people took advantage of this building right on train tracks.
As we fix our trains – we will engage our people. pic.twitter.com/iiba3MjA4Z
— Minister of Transport |Mr Fix (@MbalulaFikile) March 5, 2020
PRASA sets aside billions to restore service on central line
PRASA has set aside about R1.4 billion to restore services on Cape Town’s Metrorail central line.
The central line between Langa train station, Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain has been the hardest hit by the arson attacks on Metrorail trains, cable theft and vandalism of infrastructure, which has plagued the passenger rail service for at least three years now.
Services on the central line have been suspended since November 2019 due to vandalism and arson. Thousands of commuters living near the central line have had to use alternate means of transport over the past at extra cost out of their pockets.
PRASA says train services on the central line are expected to be fully operational by May 2021.
“We are looking at limited service, where we will have about 10 train sets in service. Next year from April to May we’re looking at recovering a full service, that will be about 33 train sets, between now and then we are looking at an option of a road-based solution where we will have about 80 buses, 70 seater buses that will transport passengers from station to station not encroaching on operating licensed routes,” says PRASA Administrator, Bongisizwe Mpondo.
Poor administration at PRASA has been singled out as being responsible for the dysfunctional state of the rail entity. Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula says steps are being taken to restore order at the rail agency.
We can not be a society that is defined by looting and theft of state resources, depriving our people of their services while others enjoy ill gotten wealth.
We will fix this entity and get back our trains. https://t.co/EiGzLT2Oci pic.twitter.com/ui2STmMEw4
— Minister of Transport |Mr Fix (@MbalulaFikile) March 5, 2020
