Train driver Joepie Joubert (59), who shot dead one of the four armed robbers who accosted him as he signed on duty in the early hours, on Friday thanked his employer the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) for supporting him.
It was the second time Joubert had been attacked while on duty.
Apart from the trauma of being attacked by armed men and having to deal with the emotions of having shot someone dead, Joubert was also taken in for questioning by the police.
“This is a very difficult time for me and my family. PRASA assisted me to get counselling to help me to try and cope with the traumatic two attacks at the Kraaifontein Station,” Joubert said.
Joubert said he was attacked by four men on the 2 September at the Kraaifontein Station in the early hours of the morning.
The train driver was armed with his personal firearm, which he used to shoot dead one of the attackers. Joubert was then taken in for questioning by the police. He said PRASA immediately appointed an attorney to assist him and he was subsequently allowed to go home.
In the first incident on 26 July, Joubert was overpowered, assaulted badly and robbed by three men at the Kraaifontein Station. As a result of the attack Joubert resigned, after 42 years at Prasa. His last day of work is on September 30.
The United National Transport Union (UNTU) General Secretary Steve Harris said while the labour body appreciated the support PRASA gave to the train driver, it felt the company could have prevented the attacks.
UNTU has been demanding preventative steps that include better security for its members.
Earlier this year Metrorail said 67 train drivers had been attacked since November last year. The second attack on Joubert came weeks after another train driver, Piet Botha, was shot and killed while waiting for a train at Netreg station.
UNTU wants PRASA to appoint trained armed guards to escort the train crew working on the Central line or close to it.
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