Human error in Gautrain mishap

THE preliminary investigation into the minor Gautrain derailment of a train approaching Hatfield Station in Pretoria at low speed at about 8.30am on Thursday has found human error to be the root cause. The preliminary investigation has identified three key factors, Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager said. “Firstly, the low speed derailment happened subsequent to a power failure to the signalling system. Secondly, the integrity of the overall safety of the system remains intact and that the incident did not happen as a result of a malfunction of the safety systems. The signalling system acted as it was designed and certified to and prevented the train from crossing the relevant section at the normal operating speed. Thirdly, the available facts indicate that the incident occurred as a result of human error,” Nayager said. The focus of the investigation would now move to the reason for the human error and international experts would be brought in to review the operating procedures and training records to ensure that all operational systems also complied with best internal practice.