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Engineering News reports that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has warned that a ban on manually authorising trains will negatively impact on Metrorail commuters.
The Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) on Wednesday enforced the ban, after two trains collided in Germiston on Tuesday morning. About 200 people were injured in the accident, which the RSR determined had been caused by human error. At the time of the accident, trains were being manually authorised by train control officials as a result of normal signalling systems not being available. Noting that the use of manual authorisation by Metrorail was not by design but was necessitated by cable theft, Prasa said that, should the prohibition directive hold, Metrorail could expect a huge backlash from the public, which might result in trains being set on fire or vandalised. “Millions of passengers who have bought tickets, which are the only tickets they can afford, will be severely affected while Metrorail will be unable to provide alternative transportation or refunds owing to the sheer scale of the number of passengers,” Prasa stated. Prasa has agreed to submit corrective measures to the RSR that will ensure the safety of passengers during degraded conditions where manual authorisation is in operation.
- Read this report in full at Engineering News
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