Cable and locomotive battery theft east of Johannesburg has cost Spoornet over R140-million in lost revenue from disrupted traffic flow, the company said on Friday.
”The disruption has been on trains out of and into Johannesburg, particularly on the Natal corridor and Cape corridor,” said spokesperson Molatwane Likhethe.
In May alone, cable and battery theft affected 494 Spoornet trains, which caused serious delays and the cancellation of 94 of these trains.
”This hurts not only Spoornet and its customers, but also South Africa as a whole, because when consignments fail to reach their international destinations on time the country’s reputation suffers because overseas markets view us as unreliable and inefficient,” he said.
Commodities affected by delays were cement, coal, iron ore, cars, and container traffic, as well as passenger trains.
Likhethe said this theft also resulted in human disaster and tragedy, such as the recent burning of passenger coaches, which were as a result of cable theft.
He said Spoornet now faced the challenge of having to secure about 23 000km of rail track with limited security resources.
”Nonetheless, hotspots have been identified, several syndicates arrested and innovative technology applied, such as replacing the overhead copper wire cables with tiger wire which doesn’t have a high resale value.”
Spoornet appealed to the public to assist in the fight against crime. Rewards of up to R25 000 would be paid to individuals who provide positive information that leads to the recovery of Spoornet property or the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. — Sapa