Thursday August 14, 2025, around 6.45 p.m., a train from the line 4towards the city center, was the target of a voluntary fire up to the station Slimane Kahia. According to the press release from the Tunis Transport Company (TransTu), a group of children would have lit papers before throwing them between the seats, causing a fire departure which damaged part of the floor and electric cables under the benches.
Alerted by passengers’ cries, the driver intervened quickly using fire extinguishers, before civil protection finalized extinction at the next stop.
The TransTU denounces “dangerous behavior which threaten the safety of users” and announces the opening of a report, with commitment of proceedings on the basis of article 307 of the penal code. The company reaffirms its zero tolerance policy in the face of sabotage acts.
A black series that is repeated
It is not an isolated incident. In recent years, the light metro has experienced several significant episodes:
Between prevention and repression
The multiplication of these incidents raises the question of the capacity of the authorities and operators to guarantee the security of public transport. Solutions cannot be limited to the repair of damage:
- Surveillance strengthening in trains and stations (video protection, human presence).
- Awareness with young audiences on the legal and human consequences of these acts.
- Cooperation Between Transu, police and civil society to anticipate and dissuade risky behavior.
Each act avoided, it is a train that continues to circulate, passengers who arrive safely and a public service which remains operational.
In recent months, Urban mobility in Tunisia has several notable advances : in July 2025the TransTu received 189 new Chinese buses (final batch of a contract of 300 vehicles) to strengthen its rolling stock. In addition, an international call for tenders has been launched in May 2025 in order to acquire 30 new light metro oarsserving in particular the TGM with a delivery scheduled for 2027. These initiatives are part of a network modernization strategy, supported by infrastructure megaprojects, including the consolidation of the rapid rail network (RFR) in the Grand-Tunis.
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