Cape Town trains suspended for second time in one week after vandalism

• Cape Town trains have been affected by a second vandalism attempt this week.
• All trains in the Western Cape were halted on Tuesday after vandalism to cables at the Tafelbaai substation.
• On Thursday night, the same cables were targeted by criminals, causing further delays.

Metrorail has implemented extra security measures after a second attempt to steal cables providing electricity to its trains.

All trains in the Western Cape were halted on Tuesday following vandalism to the cables during load shedding. The latest attempt, which took place on Thursday at around at 18:30, saw trains cancelled on Cape Town lines.

Trains between Cape Town and Muizenberg were cancelled at the Retreat Station on Thursday night.

"The attempted theft and vandalism of the electrical infrastructure, on a line that has been successfully restored back to service while Metrorail works to restore the rest of the lines, points to blatant sabotage of Metrorail services, which we will not tolerate," said Western Cape Metrorail acting regional manager Kaparo Molefi.

Metrorail spokesperson Nana Zenani said the latest vandalism followed an incident on Tuesday. The Tafelbaai substation, which feeds Metrorail, failed to come back online after load shedding. Eskom confirmed that the fault was caused by vandalism to the feeder at the Tafelbaai substation on Tuesday at around 02:00.

READ | All Western Cape Metrorail lines halted due to substation malfunction after load shedding

"Prasa (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa) and Eskom technicians repaired the same line on [Tuesday] after it was deliberately cut by criminals during load shedding. Prasa and Eskom are working around the clock to again repair the same line after it was cut and left on the scene during peak service," said Zenani.

Metrorail will be engaging with Eskom and law enforcement to launch an investigation into the sabotage, said Zenani.