The Department of Transport says it will table a Railway Safety Bill in Parliament later in 2019 that seeks to strengthen the railway model and increase personal safety.
The bill also aims to combat crime in the railway environment.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has visited the pre-departure inspection yard at Transnet‘s Bayhead Maintenance Depot in Durban together with the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR).
The RSR says a total of more than 4 000 incidents were reported in the railway environment across all categories during the 2017/2018 period.
These numbers showed a 10% increase from the previous year.
Mbalula addressed a media briefing on Thursday. “2 660 of these incidents were attributed to the Transnet Freight rail. Our commitment is to implement measures that will significantly reduce these incidents over time. In order for the economy to thrive and for our people to be safe, railway safety must become our integral part of our normal operations at all times. Later this year, we will be tabling before Parliament a Railway Safety Bill with the South Africa Police Services.”
This morning, alongside the RSR Inspectors, we conducted a pre-departure inspection at the Transnet Freight Rail yard in Durban. The inspection sought to achieve the following: https://t.co/7xhF8IttOo pic.twitter.com/o9ugJcIp2O
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) August 15, 2019
