WINTERNEST TRAIN COMMUTERS FORCED INTO DANGEROUS ROUTES AFTER GATE CLOSURE!

Hundreds of rail commuters and residents in the Winternest area of Akasia have been left stranded and exposed to crime following the closure of a small but vital pedestrian gate that provided direct access to the Winternest Station Square train station in Clarina, Pretoria North.

The gate, located at the Station Square Centre on Daan De Wet Nel Road, Winternest AH, housing the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD), Home Affairs, and the Akasia Traffic Department, was recently closed by centre management citing security concerns.

However, the decision has sparked frustration among daily commuters and residents who say the closure has made their daily journeys longer and far more dangerous.

For years, the small entrance served as a convenient and safe shortcut for people travelling between the Winternest train station and surrounding residential areas. Commuters use the gate from different parts of the country – Soshanguve, Mabopane, Ga-Rankuwa, Mamelodi, Atteridgevilly, Hammanskraal and other areas north of Pretoria.

Commuters used the gate to quickly access trains heading to Pretoria and surrounding areas, while residents from a nearby estate relied on it to walk to the Sasol garage at the complex, catch taxis to town for work and school, or reach nearby institutions such as Laerskool Akasia.

Now, those routes have been cut off, and a long winding walk in the unsafe bushes has been opened.

Instead, commuters are forced to walk longer distances around industrial areas and through bushes near the railway line – areas that residents say have become hotspots for criminal activity.

Ward 98 councilor candidate Thabo Moroane says the situation is worrying and requires urgent intervention.

According to Moroane, residents raised the alarm after the closure forced them to use routes that exposed them to criminals hiding in nearby bushes.

“The reasons given by the centre management are understandable, but the risk they are putting our people in is enormous,” Moroane told Akasia Express.

Moroane said he has already engaged the City of Tshwane and the Metro Police in an effort to find an alternative solution that will restore safe access to the train station without compromising security at the municipal complex.

“I have made it my assignment to assist the people. We need solutions rather than creating new problems in the pretext of fixing others,” he said.

According to Moroane, Metro Police indicated that the gate was closed because criminals had allegedly used it as an escape route after committing criminal acts and stealing items from the centre.

But residents, who couldn’t be photographed or named, argue that while security concerns at the complex may be valid, the closure has effectively pushed innocent commuters into far more dangerous surroundings.

“We must be proactive rather than reactive when something terrible happens in those bushes,” Moroane warned.

The area around the railway line is surrounded by scrapyards, recycling operations, and various industrial businesses, creating isolated spaces where commuters feel vulnerable, especially early in the early morning and late in the evening when it’s dark.

Safety concerns are not unfounded. The broader Akasia policing precinct has faced persistent crime challenges, with police statistics showing increases in several categories of violent and property-related crimes in recent years.

At the same time, local police have also been battling resource shortages, including a lack of patrol vehicles needed to adequately police the vast area.

For commuters who depend on the rail network, the issue is about more than convenience – it is about safety.

Many residents say the gate previously allowed them to move through a well-lit and busy municipal area rather than deserted routes.

Moroane said discussions are now underway with the City of Tshwane to explore the possibility of opening another controlled pedestrian entrance/exit closer to the community to allow safe access to both the train station and the shopping centre.

“We are working with Tshwane to find another solution that will give people safe access,” he said.

Until then, residents say they remain anxious about the daily walk to work, school, and public transport.

For many Winternest commuters, the closure of a simple gate has turned an ordinary commute into a risky journey.