Question NW179 to the Minister of Transport
03 April 2019 - NW179
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Transport
With reference to the reply to question 642 on 22 March 2018, (a) what is the total number of persons who have (i) been injured and/or (ii) died as a result of open coach doors in moving trains of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) since 1 March 2018, (b) what total amount in compensation was paid out to victims, (c) what actions have been taken by Prasa with regard to each case and (d) why has Prasa reneged on their legal duty to ensure doors were closed as confirmed by the Constitutional Court in 2015?
Reply:
a) Passenger injuries and fatalities since 1 March 2018 to date
|
Date |
(i) Injuries |
(ii) Fatalities |
|
March 2018 |
0 |
0 |
|
April 2018 |
20 |
1 |
|
May 2018 |
21 |
0 |
|
June 2018 |
19 |
0 |
|
July 2018 |
10 |
2 |
|
August 2018 |
20 |
1 |
|
September 2018 |
10 |
0 |
|
October 2018 |
12 |
0 |
|
November 2018 |
8 |
0 |
|
December 2018 |
10 |
1 |
|
January 2019 |
8 |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
138 |
5 |
b) The total amount in compensation paid out to victims:
|
Date |
Compensation |
|
April 2018 |
R6,653,051 |
|
May 2018 |
R8,389,731 |
|
June 2018 |
R5,535,938 |
|
July 2018 |
R9,494,982 |
|
August 2018 |
R8,296,502 |
|
September 2018 |
R6,111,562 |
|
October 2018 |
R7,643,447 |
|
November 2018 |
R23,775,493 |
|
December 2018 |
R6,926,698 |
|
January 2019 |
R4,334,350 |
|
February 2019 |
R13,489,686 |
|
March 2019 |
R2,367,332 |
|
TOTAL |
R103,018,772 |
It should be noted that commuter injury claims are long tail in nature and takes a long period to finalise and settle to that extent claims incurred in a specific month are not settled in that month but in later months.
c) Each incident that occurs on the PRASA network is reported to the Joint Operations Centre where the incident is recorded and a protection official is called out to the scene to investigate the incident. In cases of fatalities, each incident is reported to the South African Police Service who then takes charges of the scene and hands it over to PRASA once the deceased is removed from the rail environment. Incidents are further reported to the Railway Safety Regulator daily.
d) PRASA has not reneged on its legal duty to ensure doors are closed. PRASA as an operator is committed to passenger safety and operational safety. When the driver picks up their train at the Staging Yard, he/she ensures that the doors are tested and functional. We, therefore make sure that the doors that are malfunctioning are repaired before the train leaves the Staging Yard. Passengers have a tendency of blocking the doors and cause them to malfunction. When the train is staged for the evening, the driver tests the doors and makes sure that the malfunctioning doors are reported. The driver normally fills in the T403 Document to report the malfunctioning doors. The doors are therefore repaired before the train move into the operational tunnel.