No valid safety permit
THE woes of the embattled Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) have worsened as the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) said the agency was currently operating trains without a valid safety permit.
“Prasa’s permit, which was previously issued with special conditions, expired at midnight on July 31 and the RSR has taken a decision not to issue a permit until it is satisfied that Prasa’s planned interventions address the current safety concerns.
“The RSR is of the opinion that Prasa cannot demonstrate to the regulator that it has the ability, commitment and resources to properly assess and effectively control the risks to assets and safety of its customers, staff, contractors, visitors and others who may be affected by its railway operations,” said the regulator.
This announcement came as Parliament wanted Prasa to account for the progress of safety and security measures it has promised to put in place to protect Metrorail infrastructure and commuters in the Western Cape.
The rail operator reported that more than 30 of its coaches had been destroyed, with three cases of arson in the past month.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on transport chairperson Dikeledi Magadzi said: “It is taking too long for Prasa to uphold the promises that they have made to the portfolio committee. They indicated that they are going to provide security at these facilities.
“Sometime last year, Prasa indicated that they are going to talk to the police and beef up their own security.
“We don’t see if at all they have beefed up their security and we are very disappointed,” said Magadzi.
She said the committee condemned the acts of vandalism on the infrastructure, but it would like to see more action from Prasa.
Prasa acting group chief executive Cromet Molepo told the committee that there was a commitment from the City of Cape Town to provide “100 officers, 60 commuter safety security staff and 14 infrastructure staff”.
He said Prasa would also bolster its security by 1 550 officials.