Rampant Destruction and theft on railways in south Africa

[sad1e]

I came across a few articles on railways in south Africa and they seem to be in an absolutely dire state.

There is miles of track being stolen , stations being stripped for parts and signalling being sold for its copper .

And this is not being repaired or replaced , security is not being hired and most rail services have been withdrawn as the result of this rampant theft and rundown.

How is this allowed to happen , imagine the chaos if theft of railway property was as prevalent as this in the UK , especially saddening as south Africa had one of the best railway networks in Africa only 20 , 30 ish years ago

With a network of over 30,000km (18,600 miles) of track, South Africa has the most advanced railway system on the continent, but it has been stripped by criminals looking to make money from scrap metal.
The report found that two-thirds of the overhead cables that covered more than 3,000km of track had been stolen. It estimated that it would cost the state about 500,000 rand ($32,000; £24,000) per kilometre to restore.

Quotes from the linked BBC article on the subject

People who used to use trains in Benoni, Brakpan and Springs say they have lost hope of ever seeing a train service again. For over a year Metrorail commuter lines have been left to vandals, including the main Springs station and substations at New Era and Pollack on the East Rand.

We visited stations that have been reduced almost to rubble. Most are covered in filth, some in long grass.

A Quote from the other linked article on the subject
BBC article on the subject
Another article on the subject

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

Your links are three to four years old. Since then a lot of work has been done to restore the infrastructure and resume services.

This report is from October 2024:

‘Have a safe trip again’: Prasa winning vandalism fight with 80% railway lines restored | The Citizen

Prasa’s renewed commitment to Metrorail sees 80% of railway lines operational with improved security measures, setting the stage for full recovery by 2028.

www.citizen.co.za

According to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), the full recovery of the train services, including signalling, is expected by the 2027-28 financial year. The agency said it was on track with the revival of train services and the future of Metrorail.

Since the 2021-22 financial year, the railway agency received over R38 billion in capital funding from the fiscus to restore and improve the service in the country.

The agency has spent R3.4 billion on recovering rail infrastructure in Gauteng alone.

Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda said: “The plans are part of our wider strategy to improve passenger rail services across South Africa and make rail a safe, reliable and affordable mode of transport.”

The route from Naledi in Soweto to Park Station in Johannesburg remains one of the busiest, often reaching full capacity during peak times.

A commuter, Lucky Siboiboi, who has been using trains for 18 years, makes the daily trip from Protea, a stone’s away from Naledi, to Johannesburg, where he is a hawker.

“The train experience is totally different compared to the old yellow trains. The blue ones are so clean – something we never used to see. Trains are always on time with no delays and there are security personnel onboard.”

Over the last 24 months, Prasa has revamped 36 of the 40 lines it operates nationally, many of which were either completely or partially destroyed due to vandalism and theft. Only four lines were operational after Covid.

The stolen or vandalised infrastructure and assets included railway tracks, sleepers, substations, overhead electrical wires, signalling equipment used for train movement control and stations.

Since then, the agency embarked on phased-in full recovery of rail infrastructure, which saw the roll-out of the new high-tech, modern electric trains.

Inside, lights above the doors indicate if the locomotive can proceed, while numerous security guards are on duty inside the train, patrolling up and down.

rasa is working on restoring signalling across all service lines to replace manual authorisation.

“The agency has fully restored signalling on six major lines, including Mabopane to Pretoria and Cape Town to Simon’s Town,” Makanda said.

Nationally, Prasa has refurbished 266 of the 463 vandalised stations, restoring basic functionality. “Work will continue for full functionality, with around 135 stations in Gauteng still needing refurbishment.”

One of those is the Lens to Vereeniging line, which is currently undergoing rehabilitation. The line caters for commuters from Ennerdale, Grasmere and Orange Farm, with reopening earmarked for December.

Andile Tshayingce, a security officer who has been a commuter for years, said the Johannesburg to Midway line was recently opened and Prasa had begun work to extend the line from Lenasia to Vereeniging.

Prasa has reported a 72% reduction in security incidents between 2020-21 and 2023-24.

The Florida line was reopened in June and is set to be expanded to Randfontein.

(Found via a post on SkyscraperCity)

 

[jamesontheroad]

South Africa is one of the most economically divided countries in the world. South Africa consistently has one of the highest Gini coefficients in the world, >0.6 where 0.0 = no inequality and 1.0 = total inequality. Despite the advent of democracy in the 1990s, the failure to overcome the economic and social divisions that were established in the pre-Apartheid and Apartheid-eras has created the conditions for widespread criminal activity.

More specifically, the Covid-19 lockdowns and complete shut down of passenger railway services gave gangs a unique opportunity to completely strip stations and railways of materials. Such theft would have been impossible when a normal intensity of service was using the tracks. When PRASA started to restore infrastructure, they were subject to violent attacks from criminal gangs with financial interests in the taxi bus industry. But as @Gag Halfrunt has mentioned, there has been slow but steady progress to restore commuter rail systems around Cape Town and Johannesburg. New X'trapolis Mega trains are rolling (and now being built in SA) and their modern design (with full-width open gangways between carriages, CCTV, etc) is contributing to improved perceptions of public safety on board.

I was in Cape Town a few weeks ago, and with a bit more time I know I would have confidently and safely taken the Southern Line to Kalk Bay. Maybe next time.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I came across a few articles on railways in south Africa and they seem to be in an absolutely dire state.

There is miles of track being stolen , stations being stripped for parts and signalling being sold for its copper .

And this is not being repaired or replaced , security is not being hired and most rail services have been withdrawn as the result of this rampant theft and rundown.

How is this allowed to happen , imagine the chaos if theft of railway property was as prevalent as this in the UK , especially saddening as south Africa had one of the best railway networks in Africa only 20 , 30 ish years ago

BBC article on the subject
Another article on the subject

SA (which coincidentally I've just been to!) has a seriously high crime rate. Imagine it being the norm that it isn't safe to walk the streets at night and is a bit dubious even during the day - well, it's like that. Imagine that you'd have a reasonable chance of being mugged if you went for an evening wander up Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh - well, Table Mountain and the other two smaller hills in Cape Town are that too. Imagine basically every house being covered in razor wire and electric fencing - you barely see that in the roughest parts of the UK aside from on business premises that aren't occupied overnight.

Cable theft and rail theft occurs in the UK of course (Network Rail have I believe just closed a freight only line somewhere in the Midlands because they were fed up of putting it back again, and pre East West Rail a load of Bletchley-Bicester got nicked too) but when the general crime rate is so high it's not surprising at all that this might also be more common.

South Africa is one of the most economically divided countries in the world. South Africa consistently has one of the highest Gini coefficients in the world, >0.6 where 0.0 = no inequality and 1.0 = total inequality. Despite the advent of democracy in the 1990s, the failure to overcome the economic and social divisions that were established in the pre-Apartheid and Apartheid-eras has created the conditions for widespread criminal activity.

Curiously India has a similar disparity if not worse yet is generally very safe for tourists. That's an aspect of it I struggle to understand. It's possibly related to apartheid and how the poorer people weren't just poor but discriminated against by the State - this hardly motivates people to comply to the law.

(My observation was very much that apartheid was still going on in practical terms - pretty much everyone in low-wage jobs is Black and pretty much everyone in higher-paid jobs is white, though it seems the disparity is a bit less so in Cape Town than elsewhere - you do get this in London to a much smaller extent but it's very pronounced in SA).

More specifically, the Covid-19 lockdowns and complete shut down of passenger railway services gave gangs a unique opportunity to completely strip stations and railways of materials. Such theft would have been impossible when a normal intensity of service was using the tracks. When PRASA started to restore infrastructure, they were subject to violent attacks from criminal gangs with financial interests in the taxi bus industry.

One of the notable things about SA crime is that it's almost universally violent. In London you might have your phone snatched or be pickpocketed, but it's very, very unlikely you'll get a knife or gun pulled on you (most knife crime in London is gang related). Whereas in SA it seems that there's a far higher rate of gun and knife involvement.

This changed the game on the whole thing for me - I can usually rely on my height and bulk (and ability to run quite fast) for people to leave me alone, but a weapon, particularly a gun, changes everything.

But as @Gag Halfrunt has mentioned, there has been slow but steady progress to restore commuter rail systems around Cape Town and Johannesburg. New X'trapolis Mega trains are rolling (and now being built in SA) and their modern design (with full-width open gangways between carriages, CCTV, etc) is contributing to improved perceptions of public safety on board.

I was in Cape Town a few weeks ago, and with a bit more time I know I would have confidently and safely taken the Southern Line to Kalk Bay. Maybe next time.

I'd heard that that and the Gautrain are the only ones that are probably OK for tourists - but that for the Southern Line you might want to treat it like London Overground at 10pm, and the area around Cape Town station is particularly dodgy (perhaps compare to say Brixton at 10pm even during the day). Didn't really get the chance myself though, I was doing an organised tour and the schedule was pretty packed. I think we were probably there about the same time though!

Not sure I'll go there again to be honest. It was an interesting country, certainly, and well worth visiting, though. But I don't generally choose places I can't walk around and explore safely for repeat visits.

 

[Hadders]

I visited Pretoria and Johannesburg back in December. Agree with what you say, youneed to be careful where you walk and certainly don't be out after dark. We had a 10 minute walk from a restaurant to our hotel in Sandton which is an area similar to Canary Wharf - new business district, provate secuity patrolling and locals advised us that we should've got a taxi!

Travelled on the Gautrain, and it was absolutely fine but we did travel on a Sunday afternoon!

 

[Bungle158]

I visited Pretoria and Johannesburg back in December. Agree with what you say, youneed to be careful where you walk and certainly don't be out after dark. We had a 10 minute walk from a restaurant to our hotel in Sandton which is an area similar to Canary Wharf - new business district, provate secuity patrolling and locals advised us that we should've got a taxi!

Travelled on the Gautrain, and it was absolutely fine but we did travel on a Sunday afternoon!

Back in my day in SA, (2013-16), every Gautrain carried a security officer for at least part of the journey. Is this still the case do you know?

 

[Hadders]

Back in my day in SA, (2013-16), every Gautrain carried a security officer for at least part of the journey. Is this still the case do you know?

I don't remember seeing a security officer onboard. I have to say that the train and statiosn felt very safe. Contactless payments available too - identical system to TfL.

 

[John-H]

I don't remember seeing a security officer onboard. I have to say that the train and statiosn felt very safe. Contactless payments available too - identical system to TfL.

In Capetown several years ago, I had my ticket checked on a local train, and the inspector was a charming, very well dressed young lady backed up by three very large guards.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Back in my day in SA, (2013-16), every Gautrain carried a security officer for at least part of the journey. Is this still the case do you know?

Yes, the Gautrain has private security on board the trains and in the stations. It’s been a fundamental part of their business to be considered safe by passengers. I would consider it safe for a foreign tourist with no local knowledge to safely walk out of OR Tambo Airport and ride the Gautrain to Johannesburg, Sandton or Pretoria, provided you knew where you were going after that. I’ve used it a couple of times to do just that and the only strange thing is how similar the Electrostar units are to their British cousins.