Fire on-board a train at Brackenfell Railway station disrupts commuters

At 03:30 on Friday, 05 October 2012 [today] a fire occurred on-board a train that was stationed at the Brackenfell Railway Station situated at William Dabs Street, Brackenfell.

The City’s Fire & Rescue Services dispatched 2 fire engines and 1 rescue vehicle to the scene and upon arrival managed to contain the blaze.

The City’s Electricity Services and Spoornet had to isolate the power supply as a safety precaution due to the raging fire. One carriage has been destroyed as a result of the fire.

The fire has resulted in the disruption of numerous trains that operate between Muldersvlei and Bellville; as well as trains travelling from Malmesbury. Metrorail has provided buses to commuters to be transported to various destinations.

Metrorail is deviating trains travelling from Wellington via the Stellenbosch railway branch as a result of the incident.

The engineers have declared the area safe and one of the lines has been opened at Brackenfell.

The City’s Transport Information Centre can be contacted on 0800 65 64 63 for information on the delays and deviations of trains.

The fire was caused as a result of an electrical fault on the overhead power supply line.

End

Issued by: Disaster Risk Management Centre, City of Cape Town



Source: Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, Head: Systems Integration, Special Projects and Disaster Operations, Disaster Risk Management Centre

Long-distance trains cancelled over snow

Johannesburg - Long-distance passenger trains between Durban and Johannesburg were cancelled on Wednesday due to snow covering rail lines, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) said.

"Trains affected included two Shosholoza Meyl trains scheduled to depart from Johannesburg and another train departing from Durban on Wednesday," Prasa spokesperson Lawrence Venkile said.

He said alternative transport arrangements for Wednesday would not be arranged as the roads to these provinces were also closed.

"Customers in possession of train tickets are advised to visit their nearest Shosholoza Meyl office to enquire on the status of their bookings or change their reservations," Venkile said.

- SAPA/NEWS24

SA Passenger train safety in spotlight

NATIONAL NEWS - The state and safety of South Africa's decades-old passenger trains came under the spotlight at Parliament on Tuesday.

"Metrorail trains fail in all respects to meet international standards, except their heating system," Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) chief executive Lucky Montana told MPs.

This included modern safety features such as "automatic train protection" systems and the "enduring crashworthiness" of passenger coaches.

Briefing members of the public services select committee, Montana warned that many of the country's passenger coaches - almost all of which are between 20 and 50 years old -- would soon become unsafe to use.

"If we had our wish, we would be scrapping these trains in the next three years, because they will not be safe to carry people beyond [this date]," he said.

Prasa Rail, a division of the agency, uses 4638 coaches in its urban Metrorail operations and 1223 on its long-distance Shosholoza Meyl.

According to a document tabled at Tuesday's briefing, the average age of Metrorail coaches is 40 years, while the average age of coaches in the Shoshloza Meyl fleet is 33 years.

Government plans to invest heavily in new rolling stock over the next 20 years, acquiring 7224 "new modern coaches".

Montana said a feasibility study - involving Prasa, the National Treasury, and the departments of transport and public enterprises - had now been completed.

"It shows that this country requires 7224 new modern coaches over a period of 20 years. The first 3600 coaches will be bought in the first 10 years."

Montana said a request for proposals for the design of the coaches had been put out to certain companies on April 19 this year.

"We've asked them to give us a train that will run on our lines for the next 40 years... and the companies are busy writing up their proposals.... Come November this year, we will announce a preferred bidder that we will negotiate with and reach a conclusion."

Such a conclusion -- including signing a contract -- would be completed by the middle of next year.

Montana said that given the state of the coaches currently operated by Prasa Rail, many were asking why new coaches were not being bought immediately.

"We can go and buy the train overseas... and we can have them next year. But we've made a choice... We must use this investment to revitalise our rail engineering industry. So these trains are not going to be imported.

"They are going to be built [in South Africa]... We are saying build the plant [to manufacture the coaches] here. A total of 65 percent of that train must be components that are manufactured here."

This would revive the industry and allow the country to "design, manufacture, and export trains in the future".

Montana said the first train would roll out of the new manufacturing plant in 2014/15.

"We expect the first train to be tested in 2015."

He said the programme would create "about 65,000 jobs". It would also provide an opportunity to train a new generation of railway engineers and artisans.

On Black Economic Empowerment, Montana said there was a "very huge stake" for BEE in the process.

"There is a huge stake, between 26 percent and 40 percent."

Montana also suggested there would be a scheme to involve Prasa employees in the programme.

"They must be given a stake in this process."

Prasa would announce in the next fortnight "how this BEE programme is going to unfold".

Montana also told MPs that Prasa would be investing R7 billion in new, modern rail signalling systems.

The agency would be investing almost R26 billion into rolling stock and infrastructure development programmes over the period 2012/13 to 2014/15.

Referring to two major train accidents involving Prasa-operated trains last year, Montana said the agency had been very lucky.

"In both accidents... we lost only a driver. We have been very fortunate. We could have had a catastrophe."

He said human error was the cause of all recent train accidents, and not old equipment.

"You would expect that in an old system [like ours] that the cause of the accident would be equipment, signal, or brake failure. But no. All the accidents we've had in the past three years have been due to human error... either negligence or someone not following procedure."

Source : Sapa/George Herald

Treine lei tot 457 sterftes

KAAPSTAD. – Nie minder nie as 457 mense is in die jaar tot einde Maart 2011 in Suid-Afrika se spoornetwerk dood.

Dít blyk uit ’n skokkende verslag oor treinveiligheid in Suid-Afrika wat Volksblad onder oë gehad het.

Dié ongevalle sluit sterftes in wat veroorsaak is deur treinongelukke en ontsporings waarby grootliks Transnet en Prasa betrokke was. Altesame 1534 mense is beseer.

Die verslag, getitel State of Safety, is opgestel deur die Suid-Afrikaanse spoorreguleerder en handel oor die ondersoek wat oor die tydperk 1 April 2010 tot 31 Maart 2011 gedoen is.

Die hoofoorsake van die sterftes was treinbotsings, ontsporings, mense wat by treinoorgange (level crossings) deur treine raakgery word, pendelaars wat treine verwissel en voetgangers wat elders raakgery word.

Altesame 895 ontsporings is in dié tydperk aangemeld.

Luidens die verslag is die totale koste van alle spoorwegongevalle en veiligheidsvoorvalle in dié tydperk onderskeidelik vir Transnet R941miljoen en vir Prasa R123miljoen.

Dit is in Transnet se geval drie keer meer as in die vorige jaar.

Die reguleerder het verder gevind dat vandalisme en diefstal (17,6%) van spoorwegbates aansienlik toeneem.

’n Totaal van 1242 gevalle van vandalisme is in dié tydperk aangemeld, wat ’n 88%-toename op die voorafgaande jaar is.

Van die oorsake vir ontsporings en treinongelukke is volgens die verslag die swak toestand van treine en spoorinfrastruktuur.

Regeringswoordvoerders het nie teen druktyd op navrae gerea­geer nie.

Mike Asefovitz, ’n Transnet-woordvoerder, het gesê die maatskappy sit met ’n reuse-uitdaging as dit kom by die beveiliging van spoornetwerke.

“Ons bedryf 8000 treine per dag oor ’n netwerk van 20000km.”

Asefovitz sê vandalisme en kabeldiefstal het reuse-implikasies vir Transnet.

“Die impak van kabeldiefstal is nie net finansieel van aard nie, maar lei ook dikwels tot menslike tragedie.”

Transnet spesialiseer in vragvervoer en Prasa in passasierstreine. Prasa bedryf die Metrorail-treine in die grootste metro’s en ook Shosholoza Meyl.

Albei maatskappye is staatsbeheerde maatskappye.

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Instituut vir Rasseverhoudinge het vroeër in ’n studie oor mynongelukke gesê tot vyf keer soveel mense gaan dood in spoorongelukke in Suid-Afrika as in mynbou-ongelukke.

“Die regering is met reg bekommerd oor mynongelukke en sterftes, maar dit blyk minder die geval te wees as dit kom by sterftes op staatsbeheerde spoorweë,” het Kerwin Lebone van die instituut gister gesê.

Ian Ollis, DA-LP, sê ’n dringende bestekopname moet gedoen word op alle treinroetes in Suid-Afrika.

“Ons moet ’n hersiening doen van die veiligheid en sekuriteit rondom die roetes wat Prasa in die metro’s bedryf en die lang roetes wat Transnet bedryf. Ons kan nie langer toelaat dat daar soveel ongevalle is nie,” het Ollis gesê.

- VOLKSBLAD

Pretoria train stampede injures 17

Pretoria - A total of 17 people were injured in a stampede at Pretoria's main Bosman train station on Thursday.

Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Johan Pieterse said 10 seriously injured commuters were taken to the Steve Biko Academic Hospital.

Seven others were taken to the Tshwane District Hospital with slight injuries.

Commuter Tshepo Mashele, of Mamelodi East, blamed the stampede on the overloading of trains, which he said was a daily occurrence.

"We are exposed to pushing and shoving every day. Unfortunately many people got injured today [Thursday]," he said.

"We don't understand why we are treated like inferior human beings... despite the recent fares hike," he said.

No comment from Metrorail

Metrorail introduced a 27% train fare hike, on average, on April 1.

Mashele said Thursday's chaos was sparked by poor communication methods and the unreliability of trains.

"People had to push and shove, at the same time having to guess where the train is going. The staff here [at Bosman station] do not communicate with commuters," he said.

Another commuter, Jeff Khupane of Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, warned that if the train service was not urgently improved, more horrific accidents would occur.

"More people have no option but to use these unreliable trains, due to the prohibitive fuel price," he said.

Metrorail staff at the Bosman station declined to speak to the media.

They said their marketing department, which would take media inquiries, was on an internal course somewhere. Another Metrorail spokesperson reached by phone declined to comment.

- SAPA/News24

Man dismembered by train in Johannesburg

Johannesburg - A security guard was killed and dismembered by a train at Tooronga train station on Saturday morning, said Johannesburg emergency management services.

The security guard, between 35 and 40 years of age, was waiting on the platform around 06:00 when he was hit by the train, said spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi.

"It is believed he was going to Germiston on the way to work. He was unfortunately dismembered by the train and died on the scene," said Mulaudzi.

Mulaudzi appealed to the public to take extreme care when standing on platforms, and to be aware of arriving trains and the direction they come from.


- SAPA

Man dead after falling off platform

A man died after he was run over by a train at the Sarepta train station in Bellville, Cape Town on Tuesday, paramedics said.

He fell through the gap between two train carriages, landed on the tracks and had his right foot sliced off and left leg broken when the train rolled over him, ER24 spokesman Andre Visser said.

He was airlifted to hospital where he died shortly after arrival.

- Sapa/IOL