JOHANNESBURG – The Portfolio Committee on Transport has on Wednesday called on the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) to prioritise signalling in its programmes.
The call comes after more than 100 people were injured on Tuesday after a collision between two passenger Metrorail trains at the Eloff extension in Selby, south of Johannesburg.
The cause of the accident was believed to be as a result of signalling challenges.
Chairperson Dikeledi Magadzi said it was worth recording that the committee welcomed the calls for investigations but those should lead to improvement of service.
“Signalling in rail sector is a challenge and should be attended to as a matter of urgency. Train accidents pose an even greater risks to many poor people than road.”
Magadzi said the committee would see if it could invite RSR to come and brief the committee on signalling challenges and what was being done before the end of the year.
“The frequency with which train accidents occur was concerning and that the committee was grateful that no fatalities had been reported.”
“The committee wishes speedy recovery to the victims of train collision. Accidents are not what we want the rail sector to be known for, rather its cost effectiveness, reliability and safety,” Magadzi said.