Cape Town's northern line back on track but there's work to be done

I stumbled through a dark pedestrian tunnel at 5.30am as I made my way to the platforms at the Bellville train station on Wednesday.

I had not taken a train since 2011. Back then, the tunnel was well lit and teemed with police officers.

I feared for my life. Somewhere in the darkness Metrorail spin doctor Nana Zenani explained that “they (thieves) stripped the power cables, now we have to fix them”.

She offered to help an old woman who was limping up the tunnel stairs and explained the situation, but was given the cold shoulder.

In stark contrast to 11 years ago when trains were my only mode of transport between Bellville and Cape Town, a couple of passengers now huddled in one carriage. The once-bustling station was eerily deserted.

I had watched the systematic demise of the commuter rail service in Cape Town for the past couple of years through the eyes of a journalist. I had reported on extensive theft of copper cables, the burning of trains, and shantytowns mushrooming on the rail tracks.

Metrorail had announced the reinstatement of the northern line — between Cape Town and Bellville —  which has been dormant since Covid-19 hit our shores. A colleague and I were invited to ride along.

My mind wandered and reminisced about my good old “train days”, days when it would have seemed absurd that shacks would be built where the actual lines are supposed to be. Those days, the carriages represented the different aspirations of society. There were carriages for religious passengers where they would preach and sing until they got to Cape Town. There were carriages for pupils who would scramble to finish their assignments before getting to school. A number of professionals preferred it because it was quiet. And then there was first class for the elite. It had comfortable seats and the passengers hardly spoke, passing various newspapers among themselves.

After a few minutes inside the ageing carriage, while I was still lost in thought, the train pulled off.

The extensive damage to the infrastructure due to theft and vandalism, where the parts of the line were well lit, was evident. Some passenger shelters at the stations we passed were an eyesore. They had been vandalised and emblazoned in brightly coloured graffiti. In some stations, overhead cables hung perilously and rubbish was strewn along the tracks . The grass was overgrown between the lines.  The fencing had gaping holes.  

Just like the handful of passengers who said they had been deprived of a commuter service for two years, I did not know which stations the train would skip because they had been “extensively vandalised”. Some passengers hunched dispiritedly as the train chugged towards Cape Town. Social distancing was kicked to the curb.

The PR team urged journalists to engage freely with the passengers and hovered around wearing bright bibs — long enough for the sleepy passengers to sing Metrorail’s praises. When the cameras were lowered the passengers bemoaned the inefficiency and complained that it cost them money because they had to use expensive modes of transport.

After a while, the train pulled into a dimly lit dungeon-like space. The overhead concrete was covered in black soot. After looking around a bit I spotted signage that showed that we had arrived at Cape Town station.

I remembered that I used to get into trouble with authorities during my “train days” for sitting in the first-class carriages when I had a third-class ticket. Every time I was bust, I was spared a fine and let off with a warning. So I walked to the first-class carriages and was overcome with emotion.

The once-comfortable seats were a mess. They had been cut and the cushions removed. Some of the carriages did not have lights and those that did were dim. When I entered the carriages, someone from the Metrorail entourage exclaimed: “Journalists are always looking for something negative.” Indeed, I had found something negative.

A few minutes later Kaparo Molefi, the acting regional manager of Metrorail Western Cape, had set up an impromptu press briefing. Molefi assumed the acting position three weeks ago and he waxed lyrical about his plans. You would swear he had just invented the train. He stopped short of blaming the vandalism that almost decimated the northern line on Covid-19.

He revealed that Metrorail needed about R2bn to restore the commuter rail network in the Western Cape to its former glory.

In sum, the problem has lain with poor management, lack of adequate policing, raging unemployment, theft of and destruction of infrastructure, large-scale vandalism, and the inevitable abandoning of the rail service by commuters of all kinds 

—  Jacques Moolman, president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce & Industry 

From Elsies Rivier to Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Fisantekraal, the stations have been trashed, overhead equipment and signals have been stolen. An informal settlement has mushroomed on rail tracks in Langa and is home to 1,300 people.

“You will recall that the northern line’s service was terminated during the period leading to the hard lockdown in March 2020,” said Molefi. “During the hard lockdown, we experienced escalating incidents of vandalism. In Elsie's River, we experienced vandalism to our infrastructure. All of the overhead equipment [was stolen], we experienced signal vandalism and vandalism to stations. As result of that we had to do the necessary repairs first to bring these facilities back to service — which is the work we have been doing to this stage.”

He also found comfort in the fact that other regions were worse off than the Western Cape.

“We have not experienced the vandalism to the extent that has happened in other regions. We have Firgrove train station that has been extensively vandalised ... we have Fisantekraal, we have Parow, we have Nonkqubela, Nolungile, we also have Netrek station which is vandalised. Signalling in this area between Woodstock and Cape Town station [was vandalised, also in Elsies River and Eerste River.”

A bigger challenge awaits Metrorail on Cape Town's busiest railway line, which is paved with hundreds of shacks. An eviction order has instructed residents who set up homes on the tracks in Langa to leave by November. But the relocation process ground to a halt because the residents of the area they were to be moved to did not want them. The relocation was postponed to July.

“We are hard at work to bring these lines back to operation before the end of this financial year — that is March 2023,” Molefi said. “We are looking at spending about R1.4bn just on the central line to repair the tracks, signals, the power supply for the trains and the stations. In the other areas, I think we are looking at R400m to deal with the stations and other stuff.”

But the lingering question is how Metrorail ended up in the costly situation. Molefi blamed a previous Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) board.

“You will recall that there was a period in which the former board of Prasa terminated the security contract for probably three to four months in which we didn’t have the security capacity. During that period, we then also experience escalating vandalism. If you look back, it is a consequence of some of those decisions,” he said.

Molefi said Metrorail had beefed up its security capabilities to protect its assets. He said 176 military veterans and their dependents would be deployed at “various areas to add to the security”. He said Metrorail was also in discussion with the city of Cape Town and the provincial government to revive an agreement to fund a rail enforcement unit (REU) — comprising law-enforcement officers — to guard the rail network.

But Cape Town councillor JP Smith, responsible for safety and security, was not optimistic.

“I am not optimistic about any intervention that does not involve properly authorised peace officers or officers with policing powers,” he said. “Walking away from the REU joint venture with the city and the province was an enormous mistake, but hopefully one which we can fix.”

Jacques Moolman, president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said “the steady deterioration of the major commuter rail links of Cape Town northwards, southwards and eastward, has seriously inconvenienced the city workforce and their employers”.

“Nothing is as efficient or as cost-effective as rail for bringing thousands of people into the central business district of all cities everywhere. Cape Town is no exception. For many years it enjoyed a superb service which was cheaper than taxis or private cars,” said Moolman.

“But in the past 20 years, the quality of service, maintenance, security, and above all management of the service steadily deteriorated. Amalgamating the old railway police into the SAPS was a mistake. Private security was not up to the job. A series of management appointees were there more for their political connections than for their talent.

“On top of all this, vandalism of the network, massive theft of copper wiring, and even the erection of shacks across the tracks in places halted the running of all three lines — the worst affected were those serving the poorest people and those living furthest from their place of work.”

Moolman said Metrorail’s failure overburdened the road networks.

“The costs to the private sector of this breakdown of commuter transport have been enormous in lost time, early-leaving, or simply the inability to get to work at all. Tourists have largely abandoned rail travel when they are here. It is simply unpleasant and unsafe, even when it does occasionally run,” he said.

“In sum, the problem has lain with poor management, lack of adequate policing, raging unemployment, theft of and destruction of infrastructure, large-scale vandalism, and the inevitable abandoning of the rail service by commuters of all kinds.”

I would imagine that the train ride I took this week will fade into memory.  And I and many other commuters can look forward to a train experience that I remember from a time long ago.