PRASA fails to clean up stations and improve services in Pretoria

[John Ashworth]

Prasa vowed to clean up its train stations in Pretoria but very little has been done to improve service

Parts of the railway in Mamelodi in Pretoria have been turned into trading spaces as the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has failed to keep a promise to clean up the stations. Last August, we reported on the dilapidated state of train stations in Pretoria. At the time Prasa said train stations would functional by end of next month and stations would be refurbished by December this year. But during a recent visit to Pienaarspoort train station, we found dozens of informal traders selling goods right next to the tracks. Motorists and pedestrians, including young children from nearby informal settlements, frequently crossed the tracks which have no safety booms or signals. Most of the informal traders said they waited for the train’s whistle to sound to move their goods and clear from the tracks... Currently, there are only two trains running on the Mamelodi route – one scheduled for 5am and another at 3.30pm. The train no longer stops in Sunnyside, Arcadia and Hatfield, which has left hundreds of commuters frustrated and feeling excluded as they previously relied on the train service...