Prasa’s Lillian Mofokeng, head of communications, told the GCN that the trains in Germiston had been running behind schedule due to technical challenges, on July 14.
“Commuters got impatient and torched a train on Platform Three at the Germiston Station,” Mofokeng said.
“Although no arrests have been made yet, our protection services are working closely with the Railway Police to follow all leads that will lead to the successful conviction of the perpetrators.
“They will be charged with vandalising state property.”
Mofokeng said the damage caused is estimated at R30-million for the two trains that were torched and part of the Germiston Station which caught fire.
All trains from the station were then delayed as the overhead power had to be turned off to enable firefighters to extinguish the flames.
With regard to the damaged trains, Mofokeng said that the technical department, together with Rolling Stock, will have to make an assessment prior to confirming if the coaches can be repaired.
“It will also depend on the magnitude of the damage.
“It can take between two months and two years to repair depending on the severity of the damages,” she said.
Although there was security at the station, Mofokeng said that the number of commuters surpassed Prasa’s deployment of security personnel and their response strength.
With regard to commuters being further inconvenienced due to the torching of the trains Mofokeng said: “We do not have spare trains to take over the routes.
“We are looking at approximately 12 000 per peak commuters being inconvenienced by the loss of these trains.
“The second train (Train 0676) was burnt by commuters between Cleveland and Geldenhuis, when it had to stop due to the power being switched off to enable firefighters to work.”
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