Old photo and 2018 report of attack on woman train driver in South Africa shared as recent event

Published on April 4, 2025 at 17:40
5 min read
By Tendai DUBE, AFP South Africa

Social media users recently shared claims about a brutal attack on a female train driver, linking it to safety issues in South Africa’s railway sector. The posts included an image of a damaged train. However, the context is misleading: while the incident involving the train driver did occur, it took place seven years ago, at a time when local media reported a wave of attacks on trains in Pretoria. The image also circulated in 2018 in connection with the unrest.

“Recently Metrorail services in Pretoria to Pienaarspoort, Mamelodi have been affected by crime and hijackings,” reads a Facebook post published on March 17, 2025.

“This is after a female train driver became a victim of hijacking, attacked and allegedly struck with a brick while stripped naked and dragged into nearby bushes on Wednesday, 12 March 2025 on the Pretoria - Pienaarspoort line.”

The post goes on to say that some trains were damaged the next day.

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post

The Pretoria-to-Pienaarspoort corridor is about 53 kilometres long and has 16 train stations managed by the state-owned Passenger Rail Agency South Africa (PRASA). Mamelodi is a township northeast of Pretoria.

The post includes a photo of a blue-and-white locomotive marked “010” with a damaged windscreen.

Other posts making similar claims were shared thousands of times on TikTok, Facebook and X in March 2025.

However, the posts are misleading.

2018 violence

A reverse image search shows that the photo of the damaged train is at least seven years old.

The photo was used to illustrate articles published in 2018 (here and here) about a spate of attacks against PRASA’s Metrorail trains and workers in Pretoria (archived here and here).

Screenshot of a TimesLIVE article from March 2018

In each article, the photo of the damaged train was described as being supplied by PRASA.

In one of these articles, published on March 15, 2018, the local news site SowetanLIVE mentioned a brutal attack along the Pretoria-Pienaarspoort corridor.

The article detailed how a female train driver was struck on the head with a brick, stripped naked, and dragged into nearby bushes.

The 2018 violence in Pretoria was part of a broader phenomenon of assaults amid commuter frustration over delays (archived here).

For years, this frustration has manifested in vandalism and crime, particularly along the Pretoria-Pienaarspoort corridor, rendering multiple train stations inoperable (archived here).

Contacted by AFP Fact Check, South Africa’s Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) stated that one reason the corridor line has been “particularly vulnerable” is its proximity to the Pienaarspoort settlement.

Tensions in the area have been growing for years due to inadequate government services, but a state-run project to provide 5,000 houses has intensified the situation (archived here).

The relocation of residents to these serviced homes in Pienaarspoort is now under scrutiny, with protesters and political parties alleging corruption and bribery among officials (archived here).

On March 17, 2025, PRASA also wrote on X: “Please note that the content of a video circulating about a train driver that was attacked accompanied by a damaged train is not true.”

Please note that the content of a video circulating about a train driver that was attacked accompanied by a damaged train is not true. pic.twitter.com/J9uTVunwPT
— PRASA Group (@PRASA_Group) March 17, 2025

‘Systemic issue’

Over the years, many of the train stations in Pretoria were badly damaged and vandalised, especially during the Covid-19 lockdown (archived here).

However, in March 2022, PRASA reopened the corridor, stating it spent 40.4 million rand (about $2.2 million) to restore the stations (archived here).

Workers inspect a newly constructed train at the PRASA Wolmerton depot near Pretoria on March 10, 2021 (AFP / MICHELE SPATARI)

South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with about 75 people killed every day (archived here).

“While large-scale attacks similar to those in 2018 have not been widely reported, criminal activity remains a systemic issue in the railway environment,” Madelein Williams, a spokeswoman for RSR, told AFP Fact Check on March 27, 2025.

The regulator’s State of Safety Report for the 2018-2019 period recorded 9,268 security-related incidents, including 30 fatalities and 584 injuries (archived here).

The 2018/19 report found that compared to the previous five years, the levels of all security-related incidents that year were “out of control”.

Screenshot of the security-related incidents table, taken from the 2018/2019 RSR report

The most recent RSR report, tracking the 2023-2024 period, shows the country’s railways are still plagued by malicious damage and theft (archived here).

The regulator recorded 7,420 security-related incidents during the last reporting period, resulting in 74 fatalities and 98 injuries.

Screenshot of the security-related incidents table, taken from RSR’s 2023/24 report

The RSR welcomed a new law in December 2024 aimed at promoting safe railway operations in the country (archived here and here).

Williams said that while safety inspectors conduct regular audits for compliance, there is a need for more security, stronger infrastructure, and better law enforcement.

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