EWN reports that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has said that operations in the province would not resume until it was safe to do so.  

According to Prasa, it has been forced to shut down all Metrorail services due to vandalism.  The agency also indicated that it will have to fork out over R8 million after the Umlazi train station was vandalised by angry commuters and four cars were torched on Friday morning.  Provincial spokesperson Zama Nomganga said:  “There’s an element of criminality, vandalism, theft, train hijacking, and our crew getting assaulted.  Until the Friday incident, we almost lost about 12 lives at the Umlazi station.”  Meanwhile, the United National Transport Union (Untu) has called on the police minister to prioritise the volatile situation.  The union said it supported Prasa’s decision to shut down all Metrorail services for the safety of its members who have been victimised.

• Read this report by Bonga Dlulane in full at EWN
• Read too, Prasa 'indefinitely' suspends trains in KZN, at News24

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