Cape time

Derailed-one road to freedom 4

At 6 pm in Durban rail station, and despite all the efforts of friends and family to discourage us from taking the train: “what you’re taking the train, are you crazy? You don’t know who you will end up with, what if there is criminals? It’s too dangerous…” we embarked on a train journey that would take us through South Africa during two days, with Cape Town as our final destination.
We had a full compartment for ourselves, with four single beds, a small table that lifts up to a small basin, and some storage space on the top of the door.
Quite a cosy cabin for our journey.
We realised after leaving that we didn’t have any beddings to sleep on, but no matter, the train provides beddings in exchange for a fee of 35 R per bed.
The journey promised to be amazing already, the houses lighting the hills we were crossing, like a bed of fireflies in the night. We went to bed with the overwhelming feeling of being alive and the freedom given back to us after two weeks of constant warning about the dangers of South African civilisation.





We were woken up at 3 o’clock by a violent shock and a loud rambling noise. An attendant shortly followed delivering coffee, and telling us that we were stopped on the track indefinitely. We thought we’d bumped into something but that we’d get back on track as soon as the matter was resolved, so we went back to sleep.





We remained un-aware of what had happened, until a few hours later when we saw ambulances and other people arriving on the site, and it soon became clear that we were part of an important incident. As the sun was rising and we could pop our head outside our window we realised that we were the first lucky compartment to stand on the track when the first three compartments stood clumsily aside.

We sat and waited for hours, expecting to hear what was the problem, in the middle of nowhere, kilometres away from our next stop Bethlehem. The only indication we had was a sign on the side of the track with the name Snerbrooke on it. Some people were caught and reprimanded for being out and told they were not allowed to take pictures, however many passengers did so, some contesting the authority of the crew more virulently than others, one passenger apparently very shaken even shouted to the attendant: “I am woken up at 3 o’clock falling off my bed and you tell me I am not allowed to know what happened”.

The damage to the track and train was important: the first 3 carriages had jumped of the track and now rested firmly into the ground.
Everyone seemed to agree that the two drivers charged through a red robot, when the track was not properly aligned to allow the train to take the dedicated junction, provoking the derailment.
There were allegations that the drivers had immediately been suspended on full pay, which poses the question of the conditions in which they work: was it simple negligence or because their rotations are too straining? Also, the full pay leave gives them no reason to divulgate the story.

Spoornet and Transnet officials and contractors arrived at the scene in numbers and began to manually fix up the track.
At approximately 11am we were told to pack our bags as buses had been organised to carry us to Cape Town.
Now, if we wanted to take the bus we would have made that decision at departure point, but we made the choice to take the train because of the comfort of having a cabin and being able to enjoy the scenery, aguiché by Shosholoza’s “a pleasant experience” motto.
We were told that unless we organised our own transport from this point, highly unlikely considering we were nowhere near any city, they would not give us a refund, as we were accepting Shosholoza’s transport, which they were willingly providing. And even if we did organise our own transport the refund would only amount to 2% of our ticket.

We knew that a number of passengers were unhappy with the situation, and we decided to start a petition and collect the sentiments shared by the passengers: the elders, mothers, fathers, and children, in pursuit of the experience advertised by Shosholoza.
An old woman welcomed us with a “yesterday the bus now the train, tomorrow what? Death?” She just had an accident with the bus the previous day.
We were promptly stopped by the train manager who forbid us to continue. In spite of our rights as a customer to do so. She also tried to persuade the passengers that would not get anything out of this anyway.
We stopped at 14:00.

The train manager informed the passengers that we were to pack our belongings and get in the buses that had arrived.
We were given the right to take one blanket with us for the rest of our journey, again no refund, after paying 35R for the beddings. Some passengers, not aware of this possibility, didn’t even have that to make their bus journey slightly comfortable.
We struggled onto the bus that was an incubator, with older people coughing from exhaustion, no water provided, dirty toilets and cramped seating, waiting for another hour without any further information or apologies for what had happened or what was going to happen, and despite two members of the team riding with us.

Eventually we stopped in a town called Senekal, but again not knowing how long we were going to be and without staff doing a proper headcount we were left to search for those whom we remembered being on the train.
There were no refreshments on the bus throughout the journey and no toilet paper as well despite insisting that the staff provide this. It was only at the 3rd stop that we were made aware of how much time we would have to refresh and what’s worse many had tried to rush their food in the prior stop in fear of not having another break. More expenses incurred and still no one informed the passengers what time we were expected to arrive, no apology, no remuneration and complaints contacts, nothing.
We stopped five times along the way, Senekal, Blomfontein, Kimberley, klein Karoo Worcester, yet only after our 4th stop did the crew members start showing a little initiative by telling us how long we were stopping, apologised for the inconvenience and hoped that we would travel on Shosholoza again.
It was he told me his 3rd derailment including one in December 2007, and they still haven’t figured out a proper alternative and evacuation plan that would make everyone feel more secure about what is happening, instead of the half service they provided, not taking any responsibility for their company.
Small consolation on one of our stops, the strange sight of a family of geese crossing the petrol station.

At the approach of Cape Town, we rose to the sound of passengers on their mobile phones, shouting to fellow passengers about approximate times, hotels and taxi services whilst the staffs were fast asleep at the back. It was raining heavily and by the time we arrived in Bellville it was almost 6 am. Staff got up from behind the bus but it was passengers that helped their fellow passengers off the bus and into their cars.
At Cape Town train station everyone disembarked, we reminded the remaining people about the petition and thanked all of them for speaking their mind. And our attendant concluded our nineteen-hour journey with a second apology and the hope that we will travel on Shosholoza again.

Durban

jazz in Jo'burg

Pretoria

jo'burg by and large