The Citizen reports that in a statement on Tuesday, Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Chris Hunsinger said the party would be writing to the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) and the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) to request that “they make public plans on how the regulator intends to address the lack of replacement brake blocks at its maintenance facilities”.  

The party said it was concerned that replacing worn brake pads with used ones would place commuters at risk.  This followed an inspection by the RSR that revealed that no new brake blocks were available for the replacement of worn brake blocks on Prasa’s trains.  Prasa has reportedly received a letter ordering it to address the matter and provide the RSR with proof by 4 February that a solution to supply a number of new brake blocks had been developed.  Hunsinger advised that the party had been sent pictures showing the worn brake spares and the bins from which technicians had reportedly taken parts to keep the trains operating.  “The practice of salvaging used spare parts to replace worn parts places the lives of the millions of South African rail commuters in unimaginable amounts danger and will inevitably result in accidents, and worse fatalities, if not addressed immediately,” Hunsinger warned.  He added that it was in the public’s interest to know exactly how and when Prasa would restock its maintenance facilities with new replacement brake blocks.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen

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