Blue Train stabbed in the back by state

While there may have been no passengers on the Blue Train, which derailed at a station in Germiston on Saturday night, and there were no injuries, the event will nevertheless do some serious damage to our tourist industry, as it is trying to recover.

The derailment comes on top of repeated stories over the past year – since the train resumed operating after a Covid-forced hiatus – of long delays because of problems with rail infrastructure on the train’s regular route between Pretoria and Cape Town.

Ongoing theft of electricity cables, rails and station infrastructure accelerated rapidly during the Covid lockdowns which were accompanied by a government decision to cancel private security contracts for guarding railway property…leaving them wide open. Very little has been done to stem the tide.

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Those stories – of the devastation of our rail systems, coupled with the inability of Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to do anything about it, other than a tweet – are finding their way out of South Africa to countries where well-heeled tourists want to start travelling again.

Make no mistake, the Blue Train itself is still world-class in its accommodation, food and service but, like the rest of the country, it is stabbed in the back by the government.