Crime levels on commuter trains are still unacceptable, but the dedicated rail-police unit is making a difference, government and commuter-rail officials said on Monday.
They were speaking in Cape Town at the national launch of the South African Police Service Railway Unit, which began operating in the Western Cape in 2004, and now has a strong presence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal as well.
Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe said commuters are subjected to ”barbarism” on trains, including murder and robbery, on a daily basis, but that more than R80-million is being invested in the rail police project.
”We … hope that this initiative will ignite the spark of confidence among commuters largely towards the rail system, which will translate into increased patronage,” he said.
According to the South African Rail Commuter Corporation-Metrorail (SARCC-Metrorail), since the inception of the Western Cape pilot project, crime in stations and trains in the region has dropped by 68%.
Chief executive of the parastatal, Lucky Montana, said: ”The levels of crime remain unacceptably high. That is something we are concerned about.
”But today [Monday] we are driving the message that the safety of commuters comes first, as a priority. We’re investing millions of rands to make sure that we turn around this environment.”
He said that between June and August this year, at the height of the security guards’ strike, special operations by Metrorail and the police meant over 9 000 people were arrested, and most of them are facing prosecution.
”We intend to bring more people back to rail, not only in the Western Cape, but around the country, [and hope] that they will be able to see the benefits of a safer operation,” Montana said.
Metrorail is currently facing a class action by about 50 victims of train violence or their families, following a Constitutional Court ruling that it was liable for its passengers’ safety.
Montana said fare evasion, which stood at an average 12% of commuters nationally, was a mere 4% in the Cape Town region, which meant savings of millions of rands for the parastatal.
He said 262 rail police were on the job in Gauteng, 110 in KwaZulu-Natal and that it is hoped to introduce 250 in the Eastern Cape next year.
SARCC-Metrorail says that by 2008, a total of 5 000 constables will have been deployed ”within our rail corridors”, a term which includes long-distance trains.
Monday’s launch took place at Retreat station, where a rail police ”contact centre” — in ordinary language, a police station — has been built.
Another five are being built in KwaZulu-Natal, and six will go up in Gauteng in the 2007 financial year. — Sapa