Regulator gives Prasa green light
Officials agree to keep trains moving
More than two million train commuters can now breathe a sigh of relief as the Railway Safety Regulator of South Africa (RSR) lifts the ban imposed on Prasa to stop using manual signalling for trains.
The ban would almost have grounded Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) trains nationwide as manual authorisations are used on a daily basis.
The regulator last week accused Prasa of gambling with thousands of commuters’ lives by using cellphones to communicate during manual authorisations of trains.
After a marathon meetings on Thursday and Friday the regulator budged. RSR spokeswoman Madelein Williams said in a statement released on Saturday: “Following a meeting between the senior management of the RSR and Prasa on January 12, the RSR has taken a decision to lift the prohibition directive issued to Prasa with immediate effect.” Prasa’s Sipho Sithole said infrastructure was constantly being attacked “by thieves who continue to damage signal infrastructure by stealing cables and signaling equipment”, and so it was almost impossible to avoid using manual authorisations.
The ban came after a series of train collisions.
On Tuesday, at least 200 people were injured when one train was authorised to be stationary in Germiston but another Metrorail train carrying commuters on the same track hit it from the back. On January 4, 19 people died when a Shosholoza Meyl train collided with a truck in Kroonstad.