R177m spent on commuter safety
2003-10-22 13:37
Durban - Delinquent passengers are running amok on the country's trains, creating a headache for Metrorail which announced this week it had spent R177m this year on security alone.
For next year it has budgeted R221m for security expenses.
"Delinquent passengers pose a challenge. Passengers stand between carriages and stop doors from closing.
"There is theft, vandalism, fare evasion and commuter evasion. We need about 10 000 security personnel to deal with commuter behaviour," said chief executive officer Honey Mateya in Durban on Tuesday night.
Metrorail's emphasis was on safety and security, said Mateya, describing it as "the strategic backbone of public transport and economic development".
Trains burned, thieves in action
In the face of negative publicity generated by several fatal train accidents in the past three years, Mateya said public safety was his top priority.
The largest rail disaster took place near KwaDukuza on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, when 20 people were killed.
Mateya appealed for the former railway police to be re-established.
"People burn the train when it does not arrive on time; children sit on the rail tracks; thieves force the train to halt in order to loot passengers; and cable theft is a dilemma," said Mateya. Already, one scrap yard had been closed in Gauteng and one was targeted in Durban for closure."
Recent findings by two inquiries into train disasters found human error and negligence had contributed to the crashes which claimed lives.
In the KwaDukuza crash, a passenger train carrying schoolchildren crashed into a stationary train.
The inquiries uncovered driver fatigue, train drivers working shifts of more than 14 hours, retrenched drivers not being replaced, low staff morale and affirmative-action policies resulting in poorly trained drivers.
Reviewed driver training
But Mateya said that while the inquiries yielded these results, if nobody stole cables there would not be accidents in the first place.
"We have now increased the driver intakes and brought in those who were retrenched as contractors.
"We have reviewed the training given to drivers, and have retested some drivers. We have increased medical surveillance.
"There is a lot we have done. I am not going to apologise about affirmative action," said Mateya.
He added that there was not enough funding from the government and that Metrorail should be granted direct funding from the treasury.
- SAPA