Train crash caused by poor communication

IT HAS emerged that a breakdown in communication between a control officer and a driver led to the fatal train crash near Pretoria’s Mountain View station on Tuesday, in which three people died.

This is according to a preliminary report by the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR).

It said after the driver repeated the authority incorrectly, the train control officer acknowledged the incorrect authority, which resulted in the train entering the section between the Pretoria North and Mountain View stations wrongfully.

The collision that resulted left three dead and more than 600 injured.

Meanwhile a centre has been set up and is offering assistance and support following the incident.

The damage was about R21million, inclusive of the train coaches and the infrastructure.

By yesterday, technical teams were doing repair work.

In the interim, a bus service is operating between the Pretoria North and Hercules stations.

Shuttle trains continue to operate from Pretoria station, moving towards the northern part of Pretoria and ending off at Hercules station.

It is reported that shuttle train services will operate between Belle Ombre and Hercules.

After the accident, injured commuters had to be transported by bus to hospitals around the city.

According to officials, the exact cause or details of the accident were unknown, save for information that one train was hit from behind by another train while stationary at the platform.

However, stakeholders following the incident cited the need for urgent intervention to be considered for the north corridor, which was burdened by poor maintenance, cable theft and vandalism.