Spokesperson for the JB Marks municipality, Willy Maphosa, tells OFM News the local fire brigade received a distress call from Transnet, regarding the fire at around 03:00 am in the morning. He says unfortunately, by the time the team got to the scene of the fire, it was already too late.

He says the facility has burned down to the ground. “The cause of the fire is still unknown. The police are still investigating the matter,” says Maphosa. No injuries have been reported.

According to the Potchefstroom Herald the first railway line in Potchefstroom was built in 1897. The line ran between the home of the North West University (NWU) and Krugersdorp. The first physical station building in Potchefstroom was built in 1910, and was demolished to make way for the Cape Dutch style stone building that was destroyed in the blaze this morning.

In early June 2020, 24 abandoned Shosholoza Meyl coaches were torched at the Bloemfontein train station in the Free State. Whilst the cases are different, the infrastructure that ended up being destroyed in both instances was reportedly defunct and dilapidated. The estimated cost of the damage in the torching of the coaches in Bloemfontein is said to be R90 million.

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula even condemned the incident in June, calling it a pure act of criminality that should be dealt with as swiftly and as harshly as possible. According to Mbalula’s department, the old coaches were out of service and earmarked for refurbishment when they were set alight.

OFM News