Prasa loses safety permit after heel-dragging on upgrade plans

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) said on Wednesday it was still waiting for a response from regulator on its request that its safety permit be extended.

This was hours after the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) said Prasa was operating trains without a valid safety permit.

It said Prasa’s permit‚ which was issued with conditions‚ expired at midnight on July 31 and it had decided not to issue a new one until it was satisfied that Prasa’s planned interventions addressed its safety concerns.

“The RSR is of the opinion that Prasa cannot demonstrate it has the ability‚ commitment and resources to assess and control the risks to assets and safety of its customers‚ staff ... and others who may be affected by its railway operations‚” it said.

Prasa said it met with the regulator on July 25‚ when the RSR raised three critical areas: a condition assessment of all assets‚ a modernisation plan and filling critical vacancies.

“Prasa submitted its response for RSR consideration on Tuesday July 31, to which the RSR gave an undertaking to respond in 48 hours. In light of this‚ Prasa requested an extension of the safety permit to cover the 48 hours.”

The regulator said Prasa was supposed to file all documentation by Friday July 27.

In light of this‚ Prasa requested an extension of the safety permit