Cape Town - The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) has called on all rail operators to ensure that their employees are adequately protected against Covid-19 “during these trying times”.
RSR acting chief executive Tshepo Kgare said rail workers were paramount and should be afforded the protection they deserved to sustain rail activity during the lockdown period.
To affirm its commitment to the protection of rail workers, over the weekend the RSR embarked on a safety campaign titled Siyabavikela (protecting our rail icons).
According to the regulator, the digital campaign would involve the participation of rail operators, employees and stakeholders at large to ensure maximum reach and awareness.
It would reinforce the compliance required from operators as far as social distancing and personal protective equipment was concerned.
“This campaign further seeks to demystify the directions issued by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula indicating the measures to address, prevent and combat the spread of Covid-19 in railway operations,” Kgare said.
He said this was an opportunity for operators to embrace the new normal and demonstrate their level of compliance and protection of their most important asset, their workforce.
Kgare said rail was one of the key pillars of the country’s economy.
“With more of the workforce having returned to work during level 3 of the lockdown, the same has been the case with most rail workers.”
He said as the custodian of rail safety, the RSR acknowledged the efforts of rail workers in ensuring that operations were safe.
“The RSR is cognisant that employees are facing challenging situations, including the added pressure of conducting their activities while managing social distancing at work sites and offices.”
The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) finds itself overstretched between planning for service to resume and making good on its commitment to upgrade the system.
United Commuter Voice spokesperson João Jardim said as commuters they were in the dark about plans for operations and how they expect to protect commuters should service resume.
“What will happen to other corridors, as they expect to operate one corridor per province?” Jardim asked.
According to Prasa administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo, passenger rail is the only affordable public transportation system with the ability to move a large number of South Africans.
“We are subsidised by the National Treasury, which enables us to upgrade our infrastructure, as evidenced by the work we are undertaking in the Mabopane rail corridor in Gauteng and the Central line in the Western Cape,” he said.
@SISONKE_MD