Transnet suffers due to vandalism, theft at railway stations
What was once a beneficial mode of transport now lies in ruins.
Railway structures across Boksburg train stations are in shambles due to theft of electrical cables and vandalism.
This has led to operations being halted for years now.
The Advertiser recently visited various stations, including the Boksburg East, Boksburg and Delmore stations, and how what was once a beneficial mode of transport now lies in ruins.
According to Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), in the period of January to October, they have lost over 1 000km of copper cable. An average of 600 theft and vandalism incidents have been reported monthly.
Sibu Majozi of TFR said: “In the period of October 29 to November 10, 55km of cable was stolen. The rampant theft and vandalism has a severe impact on freight movements and has a direct impact on TFR’s and customers’ revenues as we cancel trains daily. TFR has cancelled 1 190 trains as a direct result of security-related incidents. Many of the incidents take place on high-traffic and high-volume corridors, moving major bulk commodities for our customers.”
Majozi said they have seen a particular spike in incidents in the North Cor (where coal is moved), Cape Cor (where manganese is moved) and Central Corr (junction connecting all corridors).
“The incidents range from the theft of copper cable to vandalism of substations, which are crucial to the running of our electrified fleet, theft of wiring and cable from locomotives, theft of wooden rail sleepers and other malicious damage to Transnet property.
“The damage runs into hundreds of millions. TFR continues to engage law enforcement agencies to assist in crime prevention across our network,” said Majozi.
Majozi urged the public to contact the Crime Stop Hotline on 08600 01000 or to send an email to transnet@tip-off.com to report any suspicious activity near and around Transnet’s network. Information provided will be treated confidentiality.
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