Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters said government was concerned about accidents. “We are concerned about the crashes that have taken place, like we saw with the metro buses,” she said referring to a head-on collision in Johannesburg last week in which two people died.
She said the train accident was being investigated and the family of the deceased would be supported. “We will support her family to make the pain a bit less.”
Peters added: “This accident shouldn’t make people not want to use trains. Prasa must tell us how a train can crash into a stationary train and what they will do to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”
Prasa Group Chief Executive Officer Lucky Montana said the company would pay for the funeral of the guard and medical costs for people who were in the train. He said R25 million had been put aside for people who sustained minor injuries. “It will be a walk-in facility and they must submit medical reports.” Montana said a minimum of R7 500 to a R15 000 maximum would be paid. A budget for the seriously injured had not been confirmed yet, he said.
There will be a walk-in facility from 7am to 6pm on Wednesday at Johannesburg Park Station and Pretoria Station. Montana said a statement would be released later with details on where to find buses for transport, as some people had monthly tickets. He could not say when trains would be operating again.
Earlier, hundreds of bystanders, some from balconies of buildings around the station, watched as emergency personnel and police were busy on the scene. Police blocked the streets and ordered people to move away from the scene.
ANA