Cape Town mayor wants Hawks to probe train fires
Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato has called for the Hawks to investigate the burning of Metrorail trains in the Mother City.
This comes after two sets of trains were set alight at Cape Town station on Thursday.
It is the latest in a series of incidents where 213 coaches were lost due to arson in Cape Town over the past five years.
This has cost the state R643 million.
READ: [WATCH] Train services suspended after fire at Cape Town station
Plato says the public rail system is deteriorating due to acts of criminality.
“It is happening continuously under the noses of (passenger rail agency) Prasa, under the noses of CCTV cameras. The people suffering are the passengers.
“Our rail system is deteriorating at an alarming rate, the City of Cape Town does not have any control over the rail system, it is a national competency.”
Plato says he will be writing to President Cyril Ramaphosa to ask for help in solving the crisis.
Meanwhile, Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula says the recent cancellation of an unlawful security contract at Prasa is contributing to the crisis.
“The state of lawlessness in our commuter rail environment must be uprooted. We will use every resource at our disposal to find these criminals and ensure that they face the full might of the law”.