Three railway carriages have been set alight in Philippe on Sunday evening. Spokesperson for the Fire and Rescue Services, Theo Layne, confirmed that the team responded to the blaze in Leonard Radu Road at 19h20.

Layne said Firefighting crews were initially prevented from extinguishing the fire, but eventually managed to so with the help of the police service.

“No injuries were reported and the probable cause of the fire was protest related.

“Two fire engines, two water tankers and one rescue vehicle with 16 firefighters were dispatched to the incident. The fire was extinguished 21h53.”

The incident follows numerous Metrorail train fires in recent months, which left at least one person dead.

The investigation into the fires is yet to be concluded.

The fires have severely impacted service delivery for the already embattled service provider. This as Metrorail in the Western Cape suspended its train services between Philippi and Chris Hani, on the Central Line, due to infrastructure and track equipment problems.

VOC 91.3fm