Pretoria | Thursday
COMMUTERS angered by train delays set three coaches alight at Pretoria Station on Wednesday afternoon.
As a result Pretoria commuters may experience difficulty in getting to work by train on Thursday morning, Metrorail CEO Honey Mateya said.
Commuters went on rampage after trains were delayed because of a gas leak at a neighbouring station.
Police representative Captain Piletjie Sebola said three men and a woman were injured by stones and during a stampede at the station. The injuries were not serious.
They were taken to Mediforum Hospital for treatment.
Tshwana emergency services representative Johan Pieterson said firemen had extinguished the fires. Three railway coaches, worth R5,3-million, were completely destroyed.
The area around Pretoria Station was closed off to the public on Wednesday night.
Sebola said police would maintain a presence at the station on Thursday.
A case of arson has been opened.
”At this stage it is not known what was used to set the three cars alight.”
Meanwhile, more than 500 commuters are protesting at the Saulsville train station in Atteridgeville due to an apparent lack of trains, Pretoria police said on Thursday morning.
Sebola said the commuters have been complaining because trains are not running in the Pretoria region.
Sebola said there was a strong police visibility at the station.
Metrorail chief executive Honey Mateya told Sapa on Thursday morning that the ”situation is tense”, although busses had been provided to transport the commuters.
Earlier on Thursday, seven Metrorail security officers were slightly injured when they were attacked by stone throwers, and three Metrorail train station buildings in Atteridgeville, Soshanguve and Rosslyn were set alight.
Sebola said the buildings at the Saulsville train station in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, were damaged after being set alight. One Metrorail security car was also damaged.
He said damage was also caused to the building at the Mabopane train station in Soshanguve, and at the Rosslyn train station north of Pretoria.
There were no reports of injuries at the Mabopane and Rosslyn train stations.
Sebola said police have been deployed to all the stations to monitor the situation.
The security officers were treated on the scene. No arrests have been made. – Sapa