The Gauteng Rail Nerve Centre in Tembisa
Promoting railway safety, rail as a safe mode of transport and reducing negative railway occurences is the domain of the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR), established under the National Railway Safety Regulator Act, 16 of 2002 as amended. Its role is a critical one, with the legislative mandate to bring together and deploy the railway police, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and operators to protect commuters, cargo and those associated with the railways.
“The railway police is the unit established to ensure the rule of law, especially criminal law, is enforced and from there, criminal activities are taken to the NPA,” explained the RSR’s senior manager: legal corporate support, Khayalethu Madlwabinga.
The knock-on implications of crime and the socioeconomic magnitude is almost inestimable. A dead body on the line, for example, can cause up to six hours of delays, which means not just commuter delays, but cargo is then also severely affected as it is scheduled to run in off-peak commuter times.
“Our mandate includes enabling operators to operate in a safe environment and comply with the established standards,” continued Madlwabinga. “Currently the RSR is developing two draft reparations for operators meaning that any other enforcement mechanisism must be through the railway police and working with the NPA.
“The purpose of these draft regulations is to address problems associated with encroachment onto the railway reserve areas, which pose danger to the encroachers and railway operations. These problems are primarily caused by unlawful occupation of land adjacent to railway lines.
“They are also intended to address the high levels of insecurity experienced by railway passengers such as criminal activities, theft, robberies on board trains and inside train stations and to address threats to railway infrastructures.
“They also try to make sure that operators can either fence identified areas of high-risk or declare certain areas no-go zones, putting notices in places to stop people from crossing over or building near the lines.”
A key point raised was the lack of and need for a dedicated and specialised rail court, such as the Traffic Offences Court that serves road enforcement, as well as the general lack of legislative support to railway police and the inability of general courts to deal with rail crime.
Legal expertise
“The NPA’s case backlog impacts on the prosecution of rail crimes,” stressed Madlwabinga, “and there is a lack of dedicated prosecutors and rail crimes are regarded as low priority in courts, which also lack capacity and time.
“There is also the technical complexity of railway environmental crime which requires specialised expertise. A solution would be the establishment of a rail court which could utilise existing court structures.”
Formation of a railway accident fund was suggested to award compensation to the victims of train accidents which was described as a source or vehicle that would provide train users comfort.
Another intrisic part of the transport mix is the department of community safety (DCS), mandated to ensure that all citizens are and feel safe. “We have said we are responsible for improving policy and community representation and promoting crime prevention,” said Lucky Mabasoa, representing the DCS at the summit. “We are also responsible for monitoring police conditions and capacity, improving collaboration between SAPS and multiple agencies.
“We have found it very exciting where we have members of the community and their participation in crime prevention initiatives. We need to mobilise this across all backgrounds in Gauteng.”
Road safety is a prime initiative with the DCS, with road traffic injuries the number one cause of death worldwide and nearly 13-million people killed on the world’s roads annually. The UN General Assembly proclaimed the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 to 2020 in a landmark resolution co-sponsored by 100 countries. The strategic agenda for transport in Gauteng draws from the global plan for the Decade for Road Safety.
“Sisonke is an overarching, co-ordinating structure with various technical committees focusing on railway safety matters and the participation of various departments and agencies that have a direct role to play in the railway safety sphere,” concluded Mabasoa.
Interfacing with cargo
Both the Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and Prasa traverse on each other’s lines and according to the Rail Safety Regulator Act, rail operators are obliged to enter into interface agreements.
“There are three categories of agreement,” explained Cebisile Zulu, executive manager at Transnet Freight Rail (TFR).
“The safety interface encompasses rolling stock, track and civil infrastructure, stations, electrical, train control and operations. The operating interface covers performance, buy-in services and communication systeams and the technical interface determines reaction time during emergency maintenance.
“Both parties will operate trains according to the Principles of Safe Movement on Rail (POSMOR) and access or haulage agreements exist with other private operators, such as Rovos Rail and Reefsteamers, who operate mostly on TFR lines.
Zulu said that service design and the creation of slots is done between TFR and Prasa, which schedule includes sidings and these schedules are signed off by both entities. Commuter trains and other special trains such as the Blue Train receive preference on both TFR and Prasa lines and only commuter trains run during Metrorail peak times.
“Speed is an issue that needs addressing,” continued Zulu. Passenger rail runs at 90mk/h and freight at 60km/h and this is among other operational issues like late departures, locomotive failures, crew issues, network availability and technical problems.
“We are constantly looking at these on regional levels towards improvement.”