Railway plan is long overdue

It’s about time. President Cyril Ramaphosa this week confirmed government is finally doing something to put a stop to the pillaging of South Africa’s railway infrastructure.

Technology, including the use of drones to patrol railway lines nationwide, will be at the forefront of helping government deal with rampant theft and vandalism. Ramaphosa announced they would give the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) a whopping R900 million to improve railway security.

Just last month, Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula conceded it was “ineptness” in running Prasa that led to the deterioration of the country’s railway system. It will cost at least R4 billion to repair.

Ramaphosa said: “The continuous damage, sabotage, theft and vandalism of rail infrastructure is one of the worst forms of economic crime in this country.

“It has a direct impact on the lives of the millions of South Africans who rely on commuter rail services to travel to work or to study.

“Part of the plan is to immediately appoint security personnel to deploy remotely piloted aircraft systems to conduct virtual patrols of high-risk infrastructure. This capability will work together with specialised investigations and armed response.”

Millions of commuters’ lives have been affected by the looting of our railway infrastructure for far too long. There’s more than enough other issues to worry about each day. Transport shouldn’t be one of them.

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