A bitter dispute between the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) and two unions is believed to be behind most of the arson attacks that have destroyed 60% of commuter trains.
However, this is not news to the parastatal, which has twice fired workers from its protection services department after they embarked on violent strikes that coincided with attacks on the rail network.
In both cases, the dismissed workers were reinstated. No criminal complaints were laid, and even though 214 carriages have been set alight since 2013, no-one has been convicted of arson.
At one point, Prasa argued in the Johannesburg labour court that "strikes by [our] employees are always accompanied by burning of trains".
Read the full investigative report on the Sunday Times...