Cable thieves and vandals have caused major disruptions to Cape Town’s railway network, forcing the cancellation of 27 passenger train routes and causing peak-hour commuter delays.

Metrorail spokesperson in the Western Cape, Riana Scott, joined Benito Vergotine in conversation on Wednesday 21 August.

Listen to the conversation here: Metrorail spokesperson in the Western Cape, Riana Scott

Cape Town – Lincolin Gareth and Vincent Goliath appeared in the Wynberg Regional Court F yesterday where they were found guilty of theft of two PRASA air-pipes (value R2 000.00). They did not enter into a plea deal and were both sentenced to 12 years imprisonment (of which one year is suspended for eleven years) and will effectively serve eleven years each.

Both have been in custody since their arrest in June 2018 and both have been declared unfit to possess firearms.

In Wynberg Regional Court C yesterday Adnaan Davids was found guilty on a charge of damage to essential infrastructure and received a sentence of 10 years (5 of which are suspended for five years) in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act (CMAA). The items stolen by Davids were 15 meters of 12 core relay signal cable valued at R23 265.66.

Also in Court C, Salie Abrahams was found guilty of theft of:

§  4 meters of 27-core signal cable;

§  1 meter of 3-core electrical cable;

§  0,5 meter of 37 core signal cable; and

§  4 meters of 16 core signal cable to the value of R30 921.34.

Both remained in custody since arrest – both were declared unfit to possess firearms.

On Saturday night 17 August two suspects were caught using night vision equipment – they were arrested near Lavistown Station. Some 30 meters of 33KV aerial bundle conductor (approximate value R10 000.00) had been stolen by the suspects and was subsequently recovered.  A hacksaw and backpack was confiscated and entered into evidence.

On Sunday vandalism at Salt River had devastating consequences when the incident triggered a high voltage surge that damaged the equipment room, components and its uninterrupted power supply. The impact of the damage forced Metrorail to cancel scores of trains, implement alternative operating practices and extend journey times until all repairs are completed.

Yesterday afternoon a suspect was caught red-handed while cutting 27-core cabling between Woodstock and Cape Town – he was arrested and a case of theft of essential infrastructure opened.

Regional manager Richard Walker says prevailing poor socio-economic conditions contribute to never ending opportunities for vandalism: “The pace of devastation is relentless as an endless supply of would-be criminals step into the void left by arrests and convictions”.

He commended the regional teams for excellent work under extremely difficult circumstances: “Our Protection Services teams, SAPS and security contractors fight overwhelming odds while our technical repair teams brave the elements at all hours to ensure that trains operate the next day”.

His comments came as another two suspects were arrested in Parow yesterday during an attempt to steal a Metrorail repair crew’s tool bags. The bags were recovered and a case opened at Parow SAPS.

“The real tragedy of crime driven by drug dependency and lack of opportunities is illustrated by these sentences – trading 22 years of freedom and a criminal record for life in exchange for stealing goods valued at R2 000’.

He cautioned the public to be constantly alert to shifting crime trends: “Our investigating teams have noticed that crime is spatially displaced as soon as law enforcement clamps down on a particular hotspot”.  “This is evidenced by fresh attacks elsewhere on the rail network as soon as hot spots are successfully controlled”.