Message error led to coaches derailing
Transnet failed to tell of work on railway line
REPAIR work on the railway line by Transnet and a lack of communication – not the controversial Afro4000 locomotives – apparently caused yesterday morning’s train accident in the Northern Cape that left 60 passengers and the co-driver injured.
The incident happened just after midnight at Modderrivier, about 30km from Kimberley.
The 16-coach train was travelling from Joburg to Cape Town when most of the coaches derailed. The locomotive and the first five coaches overturned.
A chain reaction followed, with another four coaches slamming into the overturned coaches.
Shosholoza
spokesman Mthura Swarts said repair work to the railway line seemed to have contributed towards the accident. “It is never wise to say anything before the investigation has been concluded, but a preliminary probe has revealed that work was being done on the railway line.
“As a result, a temporary junction was placed on the line. The driver of the train was not notified about the work and he proceeded at a normal speed. We will have more answers once the full investigation is completed,” Swarts said.
It appears as if the train was travelling at 90km/h while a speed limit of 30km/h was required at the section under construction, which includes a bridge over the river.
The derailment occurred just 500m from the bridge.
Swarts said they still had to determine the speed the train was travelling at the time.
“Sixty people were taken to hospital for observation and shock. The co-driver, Fazel Boer, is still in hospital. All the passengers were transported to Cape Town by bus.”
Swarts said the new Afro4000 locomotive had nothing to do with the accident. “Transnet gave us permission to use the locomotives and it had nothing to do with the accident. The height of the locomotive also played no part in the accident.”
While most passengers sustained light injuries, the driver of the train was thrown out and seriously injured.
Boer, 32, sustained spine, shoulder, neck and head injuries. He said he was trapped under the locomotive and had to crawl out into the veld, where he apparently lay for more than an hour, waiting for assistance. He was speaking from Kimberley Hospital
Ivy Taguta, who was travelling with her two-year-old son, said she woke up when she felt the train shaking tremendously.
“It felt like it was going up and down. The train kept on sliding along the ground. I heard the women next to me screaming for help,” she said.
David and Susan Williams, who are visiting from England, said they never imagined they would spend Susan’s birthday in a train wreck.