PRASA RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS MADE BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF RACE RELATIONS (SAIRR)
The Rail Operations division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is disappointed at the statements alleging a high-fatality rate within passenger rail operations by the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR).
A clear distinction must be made between incidents resulting from reckless behavior by members of the public such as staff-riding, train surfing, level crossing accidents, people dying as a result of cable theft, including illegal crossing of active railway lines, as opposed to legitimate operational accidents.
The majority of people who are killed in the railway environment are those who are struck by trains, including level crossing accidents, and not necessarily employees. In most of these cases, suicide is suspected to be the cause as it is generally easier to access the railway line given the openness of the railway system and proximity to settlements.
In most of these cases, the cause is largely attributed to conduct of members of the public rather than the operator, and it would be incorrect to compare mine accidents, which lead to employee fatalities with incidences involving members of the public who are either struck by trains or involved in level crossing accidents.
It is equally important to understand that the fatalities referred to by the SAIRR do not relate to our own employees as is the case within the mining sector, but are as a result of unsafe behavior by members of the public in our environment.