Train coaches worth R33m lost in Cape Town station blaze
Mayor bemoans lack of arrests as arsonists have torched more than 40 carriages since 2017, which has crippled the city's public transport system
Two trains, worth an estimated R33m, were burnt to ashes at Cape Town station on Sunday in a suspected arson attack, according to Metrorail. Richard Walker, regional head of Metrorail, said that two platforms were also damaged during the blaze and warned that commuters would feel the knock-on effects. “A [train] set was torched on platform 13 and high winds immediately fanned the fire and moved to an adjacent train set. The final count now is 12 coaches with an estimated value of damage to the train sets alone about R33m,” he told CapeTalk radio on Monday. “Then obviously there is the further damage to infrastructure and facilities at the station as well.”
Western Cape transport MEC Donald Grant told the radio station earlier that CCTV footage had captured images of two people at the scene of the blaze, who were initially apprehended by security but then escaped. Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said on Monday that while the cause of the fire had yet to be determined, “the realit...
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