Community members who were relocated from areas on or near Cape Town’s Central Line to a settlement along Stock Road in Philippi East attempted to obstruct the railway by setting tyres alight on Tuesday. Image: Sandiso Phaliso.
((The Post News)– Residents who were relocated from areas on or near Cape Town’s Central Line to a settlement along Stock Road in Philippi East attempted to block the railway by burning tyres.
The protest comes ahead of the planned launch of the Chris Hani to Cape Town train route on the Central Line, scheduled for Thursday by Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy, her deputy, and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) management.
Barbara Creecy, her deputy, and PRASA management will officially launch the Chris Hani to Cape Town train route on the Central Line Thursday, the 30th of May. The reopening of the route, after years of closure, has been met with positive approval.
However, some residents who were relocated to the settlement along Stock Road in Philippi East attempted to block the railway line using burning tyres and metal. This group was moved in December 2023 to a location just metres away from where they had previously built shacks on the railway line. The relocation was carried out to enable the reopening of Metrorail’s once-busy routes to Chris Hani and Kapteinsklip stations.
Protesters also blocked workers from Mpande Construction who were repairing the line to Kapteinsklip.
Speaking to GroundUp news agency, protest leader Lizo Magebe said that prior to their relocation to the Stock Road site, Metrorail had assured them they would only have to stay there for one year before being moved to a permanent, serviced location.
The Stock Road residents are expected to be relocated to land acquired by PRASA in Philippi Wedge, near Mitchells Plain along Jakes Gerwel Drive. However, complications have arisen with PRASA’s application for this site.
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