Question NW178 to the Minister of Transport
13 March 2019 - NW178
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Transport
With reference to his reply to question 1635 on 12 June 2018, what (a) amount was paid out by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) to victims of train crashes since 1 June 2018, (b) number of persons were (i) killed and (ii) injured in Prasa-related crashes in the specified time period and (c)(i) has he found to be the main causes of accidental deaths and injuries on the Prasa network, (ii) steps has his department taken to rectify the situation and (iii) are the deadlines, milestones, time frames and time lines in this regard?
Reply:
(a) R435,600-00 was paid out by PRASA to victims of train crashes since 1 June 2018.
(b) Train Crashes since 1 June 2018 to date (Open Line Collisions and Collisions with Motor Vehicles)
|
Open Line Collision |
||
|
Date |
|
(ii) Fatalities |
|
June 2018 |
0 |
0 |
|
July 2018 |
0 |
0 |
|
August 2018 |
0 |
0 |
|
September 2018 |
112 |
0 |
|
October 2018 |
320 |
0 |
|
November 2018 |
0 |
0 |
|
December 2018 |
0 |
0 |
|
January 2019 |
817 |
3 |
|
TOTAL |
1,249 |
3 |
(c) (i) Main causes of accidental deaths and injuries are collisions due to:
- Human error
- Signal failures because of theft and malicious damage to property
- Poor supervision due to shortage of Section Managers
(ii) See table below for steps taken to rectify the situation.
(iii) See table below for deadlines, milestones, time frames and timelines.
|
(ii) Safety Interventions |
(iii) Time Frames |
Progress |
|
|
1 |
Effective management of Human Factors. |
On-going |
The Recruitment of a Human Factors Specialist is in progress. The position was advertised in December 2018. |
|
2 |
Filling of Safety Critical vacancies |
On-going (Vacancies) |
The process of filling the safety critical position is well underway and progressing very well in all the Regions. An amount of R33 million was set aside for this purpose. |
|
3 |
Training of staff on Abnormal Working Conditions. |
Annually |
The initial training was completed in September 2018. The training is incorporated in the Refresher training manual for Safety Critical personnel within the Train Operations environment |
|
4 |
Implementation of alternative method of train working only authorized by Section Managers. |
Implemented in March 2018 and on going |
Internal Functional Audits were conducted in all regions to monitor compliances and address identified gaps. |
|
5 |
Allocation of additional security resources in identified hotspots for theft and vandalism. |
On-going |
Due to escalating theft and vandalism, Safety Patrollers and Safety Marshalls are deployed in some high incidents corridors. |
|
7 |
Safety Awareness Campaigns |
Monthly |
Regional Campaigns are conducted monthly |
|
8 |
Implementation of Board of Inquiry (BOI) Recommendations |
As and when a BOI is instituted. |
A complete assessment for recommendations of all previous incidents dating back to 2015 is in progress |