Cape Town - Metrorail is not taking the crime being perpetrated against its drivers, technicians and infrastructure lying down.
"Our technicians and train drivers are being escorted by armed guards currently in areas where circumstances require it," Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott told the Cape Argus.
This was in response to a query from the Cape Argus about an invoice from a northern suburbs arms and ammunition company billing Metrorail an amount of R337 249.98 for, among other things, handgun and shotgun manuals, rounds of ammunition and 355 sessions at a shooting range.
"The procurement of appropriate material for our protection services department is not unusual and in line with their operational mandate to protect employees, commuters and infrastructure."
Metrorail and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa's infrastructure and staff have come under attack in recent months. Commuters have also suffered at the hands of criminals.
On Tuesday, chairperson of the Western Cape provincial legislature's standing committee on public works and transport, Nceba Hinana said there had been 32 murders and 114 incidents of assault recorded between 2015 and 2017 on trains and railway stations in the Western Cape.
