Railway line safety

THE United National Transport Union (Untu) mourns the deaths of yet another four people who died when a car collided with a train at the R500 and Carletonville crossing in Magaliesburg near Krugersdorp on May 12.

This brings the death toll at level crossings over the past two weeks to 11.

“That is only the incident we are aware of, more minor incidents are not even given to the media,” says Steve Harris, the general secretary of Untu.

Untu urges the public, especially pedestrians and drivers, to adhere to the road safety signs issued in terms of the Road Safety Act.

“Unfortunately, far too many of our road signs gets stolen or vandalised. Therefor motorist and pedestrians must always stop to check if it is safe before they cross a railway line, irrespective of whether or not there are signs,” says Harris.

Untu welcomes the efforts of the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR), Transnet and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) who are currently busy with a joint road show to educate communities about the importance of safety at level crossings.

“The union believes that the Department of Transport and the Department of Education should also come on board with the funding of campaigns on television and radio stations, and more aggressive targeting of schools near level crossings. As a nation we will only be able to combat these incidents by constantly educating communities.

“Accidents at level crossings are deadly, not only for the passengers or pedestrians who the train hit, but also for the crew on the train,” says Harris.

On April 27 seven workers died when a train collided with a bakkie at the Buttskop level crossing in Blackheath in Cape Town.

On January 4 a passenger train collided with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad in the Free State, killing 21 people and injuring 254 people.

“Depending on the speed, a train will only come to a complete standstill when it applies its emergency break procedure within 500m and 1km. There is nothing a train driver can do to prevent a collision if a motorist does not take caution,” says Harris.

For more details, call Harris on 082 566 5516. Sonja Carstens Media and Liaison Officer Untu