Get our trains back on track

#FixOurTrains

Poor and working class people suffer every day from a dysfunctional train system. Metrorail is in crisis and corrupt networks have stolen billions from PRASA. Join our campaign to #FixOurTrains!

PRASA is responsible for intra-city (Metrorail) and intercity (Shosholoza Meyl) passenger rail. Between 2011 and 2022, Metrorail lost 97% of its passengers. Shosholoza Meyl lost 99.5% of its passengers over the same timeframe. Passenger rail is essentially defunct. State capture and substandard, unstable governance have destroyed PRASA.

This crisis means that everyday hundreds of thousands of commuters:

  • Have to leave home/work hours earlier to travel
  • Seldom get to work on time losing either their leave or pay
  • Spend their limited time after work in overcrowded carriages and stations
  • Pay around three times more for taxis or busses

We welcome the introduction of the new trains – Izitimela Zabantu – which provide greater efficiency and safety for passengers. However, most Metrorail trains are still the old, decrepit yellow trains. The ancient, run-down trains and stations are not safe and often run late. People are constantly being robbed, whilst some have even lost their lives. Women and children especially don’t feel safe. Consistent delays and train cancellations mean that commuters often have to walk home in the dark.

 

Businesses also suffer from a loss of productivity, and because buses and taxis are overburdened, the traffic is worse for everyone.

 

PRASA will try to paint a rosy picture – that it is turning around and improving its services. However, it has consistently failed to meet its own performance objectives, every year. On average, over the last decade, it has achieved just 21% of its own objectives. In 2022, it only achieved 13%.

 

While it is bringing some lines back, it reported in its last Annual Report that 18 of 40 Metrorail lines were not working. It is only operating 2 of 20 Shosholoza Meyl lines. The Central Line in Cape Town, for instance, has been out-of-service since 2019. It is still only operating a third of its length and only one train every two hours.

 

One reason for PRASA’s inability to provide a working train service is it’s chronic under-spending problem. Last year, it only spent 27.5% of its capital expenditure budget. It is now using its capital budget to fund its operational expenses. A decade of underspending its capital budget, while it gets renewed funding every year, has meant that PRASA is sitting on a pile of cash – around R23 Billion.

 

The corruption at PRASA is different to other Gupta-captured institutions – it was captured by a local cabal and big foreign capital. Recent court cases and the State Capture Commission of Inquiry have shown that billions of Rand have been stolen that could have been used to improve our rail system, yet the Hawks and the National Prosecution Authority have done nothing. See our PRASALeaksReport and documents for more information on state capture at PRASA.

 

#UniteBehind has acted to ensure that money lost to corruption is recovered. For instance, in the R5 billion Siyangena case, we acted as a ‘friend of the court’ to stop an unlawful settlement between Siyangena and PRASA and ensure that the case was adequately defended. We were successful in this case.

 

We are bringing a court case to #FixOurTains. We will ask the court to:

  • remove and replace the Ramatlakane Board of Control,
  • institute a ‘special officer of the court’ to assist and oversee the turnaround of PRASA,
  • ensure that PRASA signs service level-agreements with municipalities to bring a level of local control over commuter rail, and
  • devolve (transfer) PRASA’s operations and assets to the lowest level of government possible.

Read our letter of demand here.

Immediate steps to #FixOurTrains

  • PRASA must complete service-level agreements with municipalities to ensure a level of local control over commuter rail.
  • PRASA’s operations and capital must be devolved (transferred) to the municipality in Cape Town and the Provincial Government in Gauteng.
  • The Ramatlakane Board of Control must be removed and replaced with competent, honest, diligent directors.
  • PRASA must be placed under a ‘special officer of the court’ to assist and supervise a substantive plan to #FixOurTrains and get PRASA back on track.
  • The Hawks and NPA must finalise investigations and prosecute the corrupt, starting with Lucky Montana and Sfiso Buthelezi, who is now chair of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations.
  • The local crooks and their overseas partners must #PayBackTheMoney.

How can I get involved?

Please share your experience on our social platforms using:

#FixOurTrains

Show your support on the ground. Attend a protest action. Organise in your community. Help us with social media. Sign up to volunteer with us!

We need all the help we can get. If you don’t have any time to give, please make a small donation. Every cent counts and with it we can make a real difference to our society.

Volunteer

Show your support on the ground. Attend a protest action. Organise in your community. Help us with social media. Sign up to volunteer with us!

Donate

We need all the help we can get. If you don’t have any time to give, please make a small donation. Every cent counts and with it we can make a real difference to our society.