Railway regulator finds trains were authorised to use single track in crash

The cause of two trains colliding in Kempton Park on Thursday last week is attributed to the authorisation of two trains on a single track at the same time by the Elandsfontein train control officer.

This is according to TimesLIVE, which states that preliminary findings by the Railway Safety Regulator found the train personnel did not observe or implement measures required to prevent “abnormal working”, and it was further found that the requirements of train working rules were not observed when the express train was authorised into the section of the track. These findings came to light during the preliminary investigation.

Last week, The Citizen reported that it was believed the train collision in Elandsfontein, between Johannesburg and Pretoria, which left one person dead and more than 100 injured, may have been due to human error.

Acting Gauteng Metrorail spokesperson Tony Games said on the day of the collision that it was due to cable theft along the route, and the trains were being “manually authorised” to continue along their routes.

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