Board of Inquiry to Probe Fatal Train Accident in Free State, South Africa

An independent board of inquiry will be established to investigate the circumstances that led to the collision of a Shosholoza Meyl train and the trailer of an articulated truck in the Free State earlier this month.

“We are in agreement [with the Minister of Transport] that a board of inquiry needs to be established in order to assist in establishing the reasons for the fire, and also to identify the root cause of the occurrences, identify the source of the fire and also to provide a way forward on what can be done to avoid similar occurrences in future,” chairperson of the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) Dr Nomusa Qunta said.

Qunta was in Tshwane on Wednesday updating the media on the preliminary findings of the RSR’s investigations into the Free State level crossing accident and the collision between two Metrorail trains in Gauteng.

On 4 January, a Shosholoza Meyl train collided with the trailer of an articulated truck at the level crossing nearby Geneva station in the Free State. A total of 19 passengers died, while 260 passengers, crew and staff sustained injuries.

After the train derailed, five coaches caught fire and were severely burnt. Qunta said the cause of some of the fatalities was as a result of the fire that occurred.

The train was travelling from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg when the unfortunate incident occurred.

The preliminary findings ruled out the lack of level crossing protection at the site, as it is considered by RSR to be in line with requirements.

Furthermore, at the time of the occurrence, the train was travelling well below the section speed at 78km/h. The section speed in that area is 90km/h.

The driver of the truck tested negative for alcohol. Additionally, there were no noticeable signs of excessive diesel spillage and arcing marks were noticed on the roofs of the carriages.

The inquiry will probe the appropriateness of the line of sight for both the truck driver and the train driver.

Another issue that will be pursued further is the train compilation and the correctness of the train consists, and the appropriateness of the train load for the route in question. Train consists are the line-up or sequence of railroad carriages or cars, with or without a locomotive, that form a unit.

The board of inquiry is expected to start its work within two weeks and complete its work in about three months.

Germiston train crash

In a separate incident that happened on Tuesday in the east of Johannesburg, two Metrorail trains collided at Geldenhuis station.

More than 200 passengers were injured, with 67 sustaining moderate injuries and 159 sustaining minor injuries.

Qunta said the accident can be attributed to the manual authorisation that was done by the control officers.

“Train 4317 was authorised to enter the platform at Geldenhuis station. When it immediately entered the station, it failed. As that failure was attended to, another train was authorised to enter the station as well.

“The second train should not have been authorised to enter at that time while they were still sorting out the technical problems with the first train,” she said.

The cause of the occurrence has been attributed to human error.

RSR and Passenger Rail Association of South Africa (Prasa), as the operator, are focusing on the reasons for the manual authorisations.

“We have taken action. We have communicated with the operator that manual authorisation should cease with immediate effect,” Qunta said. – SAnews.gov.za

If you haven’t seen it yet…

The best of South Africa comes out at the most challenging of times. These two friends, Evert du Preez (12) and Mokoni Chaka (12), describe how they helped rescue ppl at the #TrainCrash. @eNCA pic.twitter.com/eo6qf2xalh

— Michael 🍏 (@TheMikeAppel) January 5, 2018