Two train carriages were torched at Germiston Station in Ekurhuleni in frustration over being late for work for a second day running after scheduled trains experienced delays on Tuesday morning.
An early morning commuter fatality at Denver station in Joburg led to the delay. The man was run over by a train while crossing the railway tracks between platforms.
The Star visited the Denver train station shortly after the commuter, who has been identified as 37-year-old Lindokhuhle Mazeka, was killed. Angry commuters said Mazeka was killed while jumping train tracks because he could not use a subway which links platforms at the station.
According to Ward 65 councillor Lindani Zulu the tunnel, has been flooded for several months now. Delays caused by the commuter’s death angered passengers, who, it is alleged, started burning carriages at Germiston station.
Emergency services were on the scene, but were initially not able to put the flames put as there was apparently no water at the train station.
The deceased’s brother Ayanda expressed devastation at the loss of a man he called a mentor. He said the rest of the family in Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal, was not coping with the news.
-The Star
