Press Statement dated 31 August 2018
The United National Transport Union (UNTU) is disturbed as to how the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) could have granted Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) a one-year safety permit to operate the country’s trains until 31 July 2019, after three life threatening incidents on just one of South Africa’s commuter train routes.
Steve Harris, General Secretary of UNTU, says on 28 August a mast pole fell on a Metrorail train 0734 at the Fraser Station on the North Coast-Stanger railway line in KwaZulu-Natal while it was carrying commuters.
“UNTU can only thank God that the Union’s train crew members and no commuters were injured. The incident was reported to Prasa’s operations management,” says Harris.
On the same day Metrorail train 0260 was on a curve at Mount Edgecombe in Phoenix when the train crew saw that tyres were placed over the railway line. The train crew immediately applied the emergency brakes. This train was also carrying commuters on the North Coast-Stanger railway line, says Harris.
“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 500m,” says Harris.
Nobody was injured in the second incident although the crew and the commuters were very traumatised. According to Harris, this was also reported to Prasa’s operations management.
Jaco du Plessis, an independent attorney specialising in civil claims and criminal law, says that had any of the train crew or commuters died or if they were injured, Prasa and the Minister of Transport would be liable. The employees and the commuters or their families can sue Prasa for trauma, their injuries, medical expenses, loss of income and potential loss of income.
According to Harris the RSR warned Prasa in writing in July before the previous safety permit expired, that it had serious concerns about the passenger rail operator’s spares procurement action plans.
“The RSR informed Prasa that the unavailability of spares has resulted in poor or non-availability of trains, resulting in less signals being operational with consequential increased manual train authorisations and the associated high risks that come with the process,” says Harris.
The RSR also criticised the inconsistent spares procurement processes followed by Prasa in different regions and stated that it was not addressing the current risk exposures.
“UNTU does not believe that Prasa managed to rectify all its problems in August after the RSR was only prepared to grant it a temporary safety operating licence that would have lapsed by midnight tonight, 31 August 2018.
“The RSR itself stated that the progress made by Prasa with the implementation of the special conditions over the past two years is dismal as it relates to critical aspects of its safety management system,” says Harris.
UNTU has instructed all our members to provide the Union with detailed safety related evidence to draw up a comprehensive national time-line of safety related incidents to prove to the RSR and the Courts that Prasa is unable to run a safe service.
In another incident on the South Coast railway line in Durban that was reported this morning, an UNTU train crew were hijacked by frustrated commuters at the Umbogintwini Station near Durban.
“The crew of train 0718 was supposed to turnaround at the Umbongintwini Station and return to Durban. When they wanted to get into the other side of the train, they were pushed around and verbally abused while commuters prevented them from entering the train to return to Durban. Objects were placed on the railway line to block the train. The two unarmed protection officials who escorted them, were also assaulted,” says Harris.
The train crew was forced to continue on the route as the commuters threatened to torch the coaches. More security officials got onto the train when they arrived at Amanzimtoti Station to provide them with back-up, but the train was forced to continue to the Umkomaas Station.
The train crew was only then allowed to turn the train around and return to Durban.
“UNTU has repeatedly warned in the past that a train hijacking creates a life-threatening situation to the all the Prasa employees and the commuters on the train and any other train that might be on the same route at the same time. Luckily this train did not collide with another train and the crew managed to drive on the route, which they are unfamiliar with, without derailing the train.
“The Union would like to warn Prasa and the RSR to seriously look at the safety permit granted for another year, while these serious incidents are rife, before both of them have blood on their hands,” says Harris.
Issued on behalf of United National Transport Union (UNTU) by Sonja Carstens, Media and Liaison Officer