Regulator to set up probe into railway accidents

Hit by two major train accidents in as many weeks, the Railway Safety Regulator on Wednesday moved to introduce stiffer controls in a bid to stop the increase in fatalities.

Chairwoman Nomusa Qunta told reporters in Pretoria that the regulator would set up a board of inquiry that would investigate the circumstances behind the latest railway accident on January 4.

She said the regulator expected the board of inquiry to be established within two weeks and for its work to be completed within three months.

More than 200 people were injured when a train collided with a locomotive at Geldenhuys station on Tuesday.

The regulator also ordered the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), the rail operator in question, not to perform manual authorisation for railway line use, as it is believed the collision was caused by human error.

“We are concerned with what has happened and believe that one death is too many. The incident on January 4 is also concerning. We have released a preliminary report and believe there were no safety issues at the level crossing,” said Qunta.

The safety standards at the site of the level crossing accident had been adhered to by the rail operator, she said. The truck driver was tested for alcohol, she said, and added that the fire in the coaches would be thoroughly investigated as it occurred after the collision.

“The preliminary investigation was conducted by the [regulator’s] investigators who inspected the scene and obtained information about the factors which could have contributed to the cause of the accident,” said Qunta.

According to the regulator’s annual report on the state of railway safety, the number of level crossing occurrences has increased 25% from just more than 65 occurrences per million kilometres in the 2015-16 financial year to 90 in the 2016-17 financial year.