Transport Minister Blade Nzimande needs to “step up” and take emergency action following reports that the Railway Safety Regulator may revoke Prasa’s operating permit, City of Cape Town Mayco Member for Transport, Brett Herron, said.
“I am very concerned about reports that the Railway Safety Regulator has issued a notice of its intention to revoke the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s operating permit,” Herron says.
“This could result in a nationwide shutdown of Metrorail operations.”
This move came in response to the collision between two trains in Gauteng this week, and the poor and failing state of Metrorail services in general.
The drastic decision to issue a notice to revoke Prasa’s operating permit on the grounds of safety concerns was a clear indication of the sad state of the service, Herron said.
“Grinding rail commuting to a halt will impact millions of South Africans. In Cape Town alone, several hundred thousand passenger trips are made daily on Metrorail despite the poor and unreliable conditions under which our commuters and residents travel.
“It is for precisely these reasons that I called on the Minister of Transport, Mr Blade Nzimande, to declare an emergency with regard to rail services.mI was not ‘politicking’ as he has accused me of doing. I am calling again on Minister Nzimande to do something,” said Herron.
He said Cape Town required 88 full train sets.
“I have had no formal confirmation of the Rail Safety Regulator’s intention as yet. Whatever the regulator’s decision, the service requires urgent intervention from minister Nzimande. I am asking him to step up,” Herron said.
African News Agency/ANA