The state of South African railways deteriorated further over the past financial year mainly due to safety- and security-related incidents, affecting the logistics in the movement of people and goods, and disrupting economic activity.
These and other issues were revealed in the 2022/23 Annual State of Safety Report, which is produced by the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) and was released yesterday.
The report revealed that South African railways experienced 10 746 negative events in the past year, encompassing 1 833 safety-related operational occurrences and 8 643 security-related incidents.
Deputy Minister of Transport Lisa Mangcu, who released the report, said these events painted a complex and multifaceted picture of safety concerns that plagued the railway system.
This system includes railways used by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), and the Gautrain Management Agency.
Mangcu said that while safety-related operational occurrences were showing improvement in some areas they, however, revealed significant concerns in people related occurrences, station infrastructure, and spillage/leakage, explosion or loss of dangerous goods.
He said security-related incidents constituted a mammoth challenge, with 97% of these incidents being theft and vandalism, and theft of assets alone accounting for 77.6%.
“Over a span of five years, these negative events have persistently affected the safety profile of our railways. This is not a mere statistic but a call for resolute action and reform,” Mangcu said.
“Operator productivity, a cornerstone of our railway system, is under siege. TFR recorded a 12% decrease in train kilometres, reflecting issues like rolling stock unavailability, floods and vandalism.
“Conversely, Gautrain witnessed a 156% increase in train kilometres and a 136% rise in passenger kilometres, while Prasa’s production declined by a staggering 74%, primarily due to challenges like Mainline Passenger Service disruptions and vandalism.”
TFR, the largest division at State-owned logistics firm Transnet, has been experiencing declining rail volumes since 2020.
Rail volumes fell by 13.6% in the year ended March 31, 2023 as TFR moved 149.5 million tons down from 173.1 million tons due to disruptions to the rail network, mainly 3 877 incidents of cable theft, power supply disruption, floods in KwaZulu-Natal, and a 12-day long strike by workers.
Transnet’s rail operations are a vital cog in the economy as they are responsible for moving most of the iron ore and coal exports, earning the fiscus the much-needed tax revenue.
TFR general manager for safety Mandisa Mondi pointed to the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the consequences of the locomotive contracts, and not having enough spares for rolling stock when required.
Mondi said also they were working with infrastructure that had a history of underinvestment. The frequent theft and vandalism of infrastructure reduced opportunities to run trains on the network.
“So, we are confronted with a situation where a normal flow that would cycle its wagons twice in a week, these days you find that it cycles once,” Mondi said.
“So in that case, it is understandable that indeed the markets will not be served at the right level. looks and that is something that we are dealing with, but I think it is symptomatic of where we find ourselves in terms of the landscape in which we operate.”
RSR’s board chairperson, Boy Johannes Nobunga, said they were fully aware of the challenges facing the railway sector, and were committed to making tangible improvements.
Nobunga said they would be working closely with railway operators and relevant authorities to enhance safety measures, improve infrastructure, and contribute towards solutions to deter theft and vandalism.
“We acknowledge the gravity of the situation and are committed to addressing these challenges head-on,” Nobunga said.
“We understand that safety permits issuance, inspections, audits, and the development of regulations and safety standards are crucial steps, and we will continue to work tirelessly in these areas to ensure the highest level of safety possible.
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