News24 reports that three safety-related rail incidents in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) have prompted the United National Transport Union (Untu) to question how the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) was issued with a safety permit.  

"The union would like to warn Prasa and the RSR (Rail Safety Regulator) to seriously look at the safety permit granted for another year, [because] serious incidents are rife.  [They will] have blood on their hands," the union’s general secretary Steve Harris said in a statement on Friday.  Last week, Prasa was issued with a one-year safety permit to operate the country's trains until 31 July 2019.  This followed three life-threatening incidents on train routes.  On Tuesday, a mast pole fell on a train at Fraser Station just outside Tongaat while it was carrying commuters.  No one was injured.  On the same day, two carriages of a train disconnected when emergency brakes were applied.  There were tyres that obstructed the railway line.  "The emergency brakes of the one coach were not in a working condition and the emergency brakes of the second coach were weak.  The two coaches disconnected while the train was still in motion.  The crew managed to stop the coaches after 500 metres," Harris said.  Nobody was injured, although the crew and the commuters were very traumatised.  In another incident on Friday, frustrated commuters at the Umbogintwini Station near Durban allegedly hijacked the South Coast railway line.  The crew were pushed around and verbally abused while commuters prevented them from entering the train to return to Durban.  Two unarmed protection officials were assaulted.  

• Read this report by Kaveel Singh in full at News24
• Read Untu’s press statement at SA Labour News

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page