By Nangamso Mabindla
12 October 2004

BUFFALO City councillor responsible for social services, Fudukile Mbovane, has pleaded with pedestrians not to walk across the railway line in Arcadia, East London.

His warning follows a recent incident where a pedestrian was hit by a train travelling between the East London and Mdantsane stations.

Since the closure of a bridge across the tracks linking the Quigney and the CBD, residents from the Quigney, Southernwood and Arcadia have been crossing the railway line on their way to work in the CBD. Children also walk across the tracks on their way school.

"We need to make sure people do not cross the line. Just two weeks ago, someone was hit by a train. Fortunately he was not seriously hurt," Mbovane said.

"We want to warn people to use alternative routes to town. Crossing the railway line is very dangerous," Mbovane said. People walking to town could use the safer Oxford Street and Commercial Road routes, he added.

According to Mbovane the bridge over the railway lines to the Quigney Station was closed temporarily because it had fallen into disrepair and was also considered a safety hazard due to an increasing number of muggings that happened on the bridge.

The municipality planned to approach both Metro Rail and the South African Police Services to find solutions to the problems.

One concern, according to Mbovane, was the number of street children in the vicinity of the tracks. "This is a major problem. These boys leave their homes and end on the streets and to survive they mug people crossing the railway line," said Mbovane.

The number of homeless children was on the increase and, said Mbovane, Buffalo City would do everything in its power to curb this growing problem. "We need to work with the provincial government and NGOs to find a solution to this potential disaster," he added.