LEBOGANG MOKOENA: Mr Fixit isn’t fixing anything
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There is an old bridge dividing Orlando East with Orlando West, with a rail line running under it.
Every weekday morning at around 6am, the morning train driver blows a horn as the train passes under the bridge.
But this is not a greeting — the driver is doing this to warn the many people who board the train illegally to move out of the way. Because that’s the point where those who can’t afford the fee always board the train.
I’ve always wondered why Metrorail never fenced that area off. But nonetheless, I was glad for this weakness in the system, because at least people could get to work and provide for their families.
I used to be a religious train user, all the way from high-school through to the end of my tertiary education. For all those years, I would see the train peek out from under the bridge every morning, the horn would blow and I, along with many others, would sprint to catch the train.
At the time, I hated that run, but now I look back and I miss it.
Back in 2010, a weekly train ticket would cost me R27. But there would be more than 300 of us in a coach designed to carry 56 people seated and 110 standing. We didn’t mind the overloading though: there’s a saying, “Isitimela asigcwali”, which means “the train is never full”. It was common for me to either be hanging out the door holding on for dear life, in-between the coaches, or hanging from the driver’s door.
It was the best and only option. A taxi ride at the time cost R100 a week, and I couldn’t afford the R73 extra.
But as our economy slowly grinds back to life, this vital mode of transportation won’t be up and running anytime soon.
The train system is linked from one end to the other, so if there is a problem in one area, the whole system comes to a halt. Which is why it’s curious to me that our government has allowed the rail lines and overhead cables to be so thoroughly vandalised.
In recent days, we’ve seen many pictures and videos of stolen cables, roofs being removed, rail lines plucked from the ground, and buildings being taken apart brick by brick. Cable theft has always been a problem — but this theft of roofs and bricks ...
Every weekday morning at around 6am, the morning train driver blows a horn as the train passes under the bridge.
But this is not a greeting — the driver is doing this to warn the many people who board the train illegally to move out of the way. Because that’s the point where those who can’t afford the fee always board the train.
I’ve always wondered why Metrorail never fenced that area off. But nonetheless, I was glad for this weakness in the system, because at least people could get to work and provide for their families.
I used to be a religious train user, all the way from high-school through to the end of my tertiary education. For all those years, I would see the train peek out from under the bridge every morning, the horn would blow and I, along with many others, would sprint to catch the train.
At the time, I hated that run, but now I look back and I miss it.
Back in 2010, a weekly train ticket would cost me R27. But there would be more than 300 of us in a coach designed to carry 56 people seated and 110 standing. We didn’t mind the overloading though: there’s a saying, “Isitimela asigcwali”, which means “the train is never full”. It was common for me to either be hanging out the door holding on for dear life, in-between the coaches, or hanging from the driver’s door.
It was the best and only option. A taxi ride at the time cost R100 a week, and I couldn’t afford the R73 extra.
But as our economy slowly grinds back to life, this vital mode of transportation won’t be up and running anytime soon.
The train system is linked from one end to the other, so if there is a problem in one area, the whole system comes to a halt. Which is why it’s curious to me that our government has allowed the rail lines and overhead cables to be so thoroughly vandalised.
In recent days, we’ve seen many pictures and videos of stolen cables, roofs being removed, rail lines plucked from the ground, and buildings being taken apart brick by brick. Cable theft has always been a problem — but this theft of roofs and bricks ...