Danger to railway commuters in the spotlight
The DA visited the Geldenhuis Train Station to conduct an oversight visit.
The safety of railway commuters has been in the spotlight in recent weeks following a number of accidents where many people were injured and some were killed.
Four people were injured when they jumped from the front of a train on Wednesday at the Kutalo Train Station, near Dukathole and had to be hospitalised due to injuries sustained.
At the Geldenhuis Train Station in Germiston 226 passengers were injured when two trains collided on Janaury 9 (GCN, January 19).
The continual incidents which put commuters in danger prompted DA shadow minister of transport Manny de Freitas MP, DA shadow minister of police Zakhele Mbhele MP, and the DA member of the Gauteng Legislature, Paul Willemburgh MPL to conduct an oversight visit at Geldenhuis Train Station on Thursday.
They were met on site by Desmond Maimela, senior manager for acting train operations for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and Tony Games, senior manager for stakeholder management for Metrorail.
“Following our oversight visit to the Geldenhuis Train Station, the DA was left appalled by the dire state of our rail infrastructure.
“This oversight follows four derailments in less than a month including the January 9 train accident in Germiston, which left over 200 people injured,” de Freitas said.
“We saw clear signs of vandalism.
“Commuters complained about chronically late trains, criminals having free reign on the rail system, and feared that more train accidents could potentially claim their lives.”
De Freitas added that the commuters’ complaints of the dilapidated infrastructure at train stations and the poor conditions of trains point to a clear lack of proper planning and the absence of decisive leadership at Prasa.
Mbhele said that when you arrive at Geldenhuis Train Station you already don’t feel safe as the area is not fenced and there are no lights for commuters to see by.
“If you are arriving early in the morning or at night the lack of electricity and lighting is a huge concern for commuters’ safety,” he said.
He added that in order to combat crime the SAPS needs to once again have a Railway Police Unit which is dedicated to tackling railway safety, as the private security officers employed by Prasa are not equipped to deal with criminals.
Games agreed that they need dedicated help from the SAPS to combat the crime syndicates operating at stations.
“We have started to fence the entire rail network and we run safety campaigns every week to educate commuters about rail safety,” Games said.
“The sitting outside between carriages and hanging onto trains seems to have become a culture and we need local level education to teach people how unsafe this is.”
He also mentioned that when there is an incident they need efficient service from emergency services and the SAPS.
Mbhele added that if they can get all the basics right in the chain, things would run better.
Maimela told the GCN that he feels more stringent measures should be meted out in court when a person is facing a charge of a railway-related crime.
“The courts should deal with them quickly and hand down stricter sentences and then other people will learn that there are serious consequences for railway crime,” he said.
De Freitas said that the DA has, on numerous occasions, called on the Minister of Transport, Joe Maswanganyi, to urgently address the issues at Prasa.
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The DA proposes that the government implement the following action steps with the necessary urgency:
• Appoint a capable, qualified, full-time board and executives at Prasa with untainted track records.
• Implement an emergency safety plan that includes a dedicated police unit in the form of Railway Police to take over security operations as the current private security company is not fully equipped to combat crime and vandalism.
• To order an urgent update as to the progress made in upgrading the current signal system so that no manual signal is used and to, therefore, avoid unnecessary incidents of crashes, derailments and security issues.
• That Prasa cedes control of Metrorail services and the allocated budget to metro councils to ensure an efficient and safe integrated transportation system is delivered to commuters.
South Africans who board trains on a daily basis experience first-hand the incidents of theft and vandalism and their personal safety is not guaranteed.
“Whenever they board a train they commute with the constant fear of falling victim to crime.
“This is creating an environment for criminals to thrive and the unsafe railway lines demonstrate the lack of leadership and investment by Prasa into Metrorail services.
“We need a total overhaul of the leadership of Prasa and urgent action is required from minister Maswanganyi to address the current conditions of commuter safety in order to ensure a safe, reliable and integrated transport,” de Freitas said.
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