WeeklySA_AdminNIP IT IN THE BUD: Lack of rest rooms on new electric trains irks especially elderly passengers and women
By Ali Mphaki
When it comes to the new electric trains introduced by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, there is no one or two! Woe betide those passengers with a running tummy or bladder issues.
No restrooms are available. So sit back, relax, and let loose (but not too much), according to Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda.
Seemingly for Makanda, it does not matter if Prasa passengers endure the 70km trip from Naledi, Soweto, to Johannesburg, without anywhere to relieve themselves.
The elderly, infamed, pregnant women, girls etc included. ‘..only a specialist physician can say how long an elderly person hold urine,’ the former TV producer-turned PRO posted on her Whatsapp message to a Weekly SA Mirror inquiry.
“Rubbish,” says Soweto popular medico Dr Collin Amos. “While it is abhorrent, it is not surprising ..if this is true it is most regrettable to say the least. It is particularly dangerous and uncaring to not privide restrooms for pregnant women, diabetes, hypertension and dibilitated elderly citizens,” he said.
Detailing the consequences of holding urine – urinary tract infection, kidney stones, urine inconsistencies and many other concerns, Dr Amos added: “It is hard to imagine a modern public transport system and or a public service offering that can be put on the table without input from the public health care.”
The six-coached, state-of-the-art 1 200-passenger capacity trains, hailed as “the people’s train”, started to operate on the Johannesburg – New Canada – Naledi (Soweto) line on November 28 last year following a gap of more than two years.
This follows the reopening of the Umlazi line on the Durban commuter rail network on November 21. The trains run at 120km per hour and only moves when its doors are closed and it is fitted with surveillance cameras and air conditioning.
R124 billion has been budgeted for the entire renewal project over 20 years. But the parastatal needs over R6 billion just to refurbish its infrastructure and trains to pre-COVID conditions as South Africa’s commuter rail networks suffered extensive damage during the Covid-19 lockdowns with much of the infrastructure heavily vandalised or stolen, but work is underway to restore services.
Twelve trains per day are running on weekdays on the Naledi-Johannesburg corridor using the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (Prasa) fleet of EMUs supplied by the Alstom Gibela consortium. Whilst hugely impressed by the cheap fare charged by Prasa for their services, pensioner Richard Khumalo from Emdeni could not hold back his gripe about the lack of a toilet in these new trains.
‘Do they ever consider that some of us are having bladder issues and it could be detrimental to one’s health to hold your urine especially at my age.
‘Some serious rething is required to fix this anomaly,’ he said. Pregnant Busi Sithole, 38, of Mapetla says she rues the day she boarded the new train and it had to stop midway between New Canada and Mzimhlophe stations.
As if to add insult to injury, she said, there is hardly a toilet in most (if not all) of the 15 stations from Naledi to Johannesburg.
‘This is torture wrapped up in a nice package,’ she said. Medical opinion is that woman who are pregnant are already at an increased risk for urinary tract infections (UTIs).
‘If you’re pregnant, holding your pee can further increase this risk,’ adds Dr Collin Amos.
John Tefu, 77, a prostate sufferer, says while he is more than satisfied with the new trains, he makes sure not to drink tea in the morning when he has to use his favourite mode of transport from Dube station to Park Station.
“Even when you arrive at your final destination, Park Station, its still a long road to freedom with lots of stairs and the toilets are way far from the platforms,” he says.
“One morning I had to suffer the ignominy of wetting my pants as I could no longer hold it Something needs to be done,” he says.
Phumla Zothwane, 66, shares Khumalo’s sentiments and while she was all praise for the reasonable fare which Prasa charges pensioners for the train trip from Naledi to Jozi, her problem is “when I have to relieve myself”, she says.
“I am no longer a young girl now… and you can imagine having to hold it together for more than 20 minutes. Its simply torture. They need to make these new electric trains “toilet” friendly,’ she said.
Neurologists are quick to point out “when you have to go, you have to go”. Dr Amos said an adult bladder is designed to hold about 500ml of urine at a time but it only takes half this amount to create an urge to want to relieve oneself. Children’s numbers half these.
Weekly SA Mirror had also inquired from Makanda about Prasa’s upgrades and renovations to the various train stations which were heavily vandalised especially during Covid lockdowns, but at Print time she had not yet fowarded a response.
Hishaam Emeran, Prasa acting group CEO in an earlier report had said: “We have beefed up our security, introducing military grade fencing to protect our most valuable assets.
“Since we implemented the integrated security plan, asset-related crimes have dropped significantly. But it is not economically feasible to install fencing across our entire network and this policy change on the trade of waste scrap and semi-processed metals will assist our efforts.”
Metrorail’s acting regional manager, Lillian Mofokeng, said that the people should work with them to take care of these trains.
But where do passengers go to to relieve themselves once in these trains remains the question.
‘Prasa, I am pressed,’ cries out passengers.
