A TOTAL of R900 million is to be spent to fund a Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) Security Plan to combat theft and vandalism.
This was revealed this week by President Cyril Ramaphosa whose remarks come at the back of continuous damage, sabotage, theft and vandalism of rail infrastructure, which he described as one of the worst forms of economic crime in the country.
Of concern in the north Durban area was the large scale theft of cabling along the railway track on Chris Hani Road.
Last month, Redhill resident, William Collingwood said he was at his wit’s end trying to report that around one kilometre of cables had been stolen from the railway track that runs parallel to Chris Hani Road.
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At the time he said: “I don’t know how the government will be able to repair this, the cost is too high. I don’t think we will ever see a train here again unless it’s a steam train,” he said.
Government said part of the plan to secure the railway system is to appoint security personnel and to deploy remotely piloted aircraft systems to conduct virtual patrols of high-risk infrastructure.
“The plan will also involve the creation of an internal security capability for armed response, control room operations and increasing the number of physical security officials. This capability will work together with specialised investigations and armed response,” Ramaphosa said.
As part of this, an e-guarding solution will be introduced for the protection of mission critical assets -such as substations, relay rooms and communication sites – with early warning security technology and defensive security systems.
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“As we substantially improve security measures on the commuter rail network, our most effective defence against such crimes is the vigilance of rail users and their active involvement in the effort to protect this vital national resource,” he said.
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