With commuter safety and the protection of rail infrastructure in the City at a crisis level amid numerous arson attacks, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) finds itself even more under attack after the Rail Safety Regulator stated on Wednesday that it was operating trains without a valid safety permit as of midnight.
“Prasa noted with alarm the statement sent by the Rail Safety Regulator stating that Prasa is operating without a valid safety permit and that, in their opinion, Prasa cannot demonstrate that it is able, committed, nor has the resources to properly assess and effectively control the risk to assets and safety of its customers and staff.”
Prasa said it had requested an extension of the safety permit to cover the 48-hour timeline given by the RSR to respond to a submission Prasa had made last week. It had still not received an official response from RSR, Prasa said, and it therefore “cannot give an official response through media reports”.
Commenting on Prasa’s permit, which was previously issued with special conditions, RSR general manager Madelein Williams earlier said: “RSR has taken a decision not to issue a permit until it is satisfied that Prasa’s planned interventions addresses the current safety concerns.
“The RSR is of the opinion that Prasa cannot demonstrate to the regulator that it has the ability, commitment and resources to properly assess and effectively control the risks to assets and safety of its customers, staff, contractors, visitors and others who may be affected by its railway operations."
Williams said the RSR was committed to its mandate and would continue to ensure that safety remains central to railway operations at all times.
Prasa countered by saying “these are the facts from Prasa on the matter”, referring to a meeting it had held with the RSR on July 25.
“The RSR raised the following 3 critical areas for Prasa to address: 1. Asset condition assessment of all assets under Prasa; 2. Prasa to submit a plan around its modernisation programme; The filling of critical work grade vacancies.
“Prasa submitted its response for RSR consideration on Tuesday, 31 July, 2018 to which the RSR gave an undertaking to respond in 48 hours.
“In light of this, Prasa requested an extension of the safety permit to cover the 48-hour timeline given by the RSR to respond to Prasa’s submission.
“As of today, no official response has been received from RSR to Prasa except for what is now in the public domain through the media. This means that Prasa does not have an official document from RSR that articulates the sentiments shared in the media statement.
“As such, Prasa cannot give an official response through media reports.”
This comes as 15 Metrorail coaches were damaged through arson attacks in July and 32 in total this year, with the train service only running at half-capacity.