Rail watchdog to impose stricter safety regulation

[Steve Appleton]

From Business Day, 24th August 2009:

Rail watchdog to impose stricter safety regulations
Artwell Dlamini
Transport Correspondent

TRANSNET Freight Rail, Transnet’s largest division by revenue, says it aims to cut safety-related accidents by about a third, but the watchdog insists on “zero tolerance” for rail accidents.

Transnet Freight Rail spokesman Sandile Simelane on Friday said the group was compelled to comply with rail safety regulations, saying that its target was a 30% reduction in safety-related incidents. The Railway Safety Regulator, which intends introducing fines next year as part of new rail safety regulations, is getting tougher on rail operators that fail to comply with safety rules.

About 220 operators, including Metrorail and Transnet Freight Rail, face fines and other penalties, including criminal charges and operating permit suspensions.

Preliminary data by the regulator indicate that the direct costs of derailments and collisions involving Metrorail and freight rail amounted to R600m. The rate of occurrence, it said, worked out to 2,5 derailments and collisions each day.

Lawrence Venkile, spokesman for the regulator, said freight rail’s target was not the issue as far as the regulator’s approach to safety performance goes.

“Our view is that the policy should be a zero tolerance for any situation which may potentially give rise to unsafe conditions in the railway environment.”

He said a plan of action to implement and sustain such a policy is required. What was critical was the management’s commitment to the rail safety policy. Targets, he said, became a yardstick that an operator such as Transnet Freight Rail used to measure its progress.

Simelane said the division’s trains had been fitted with onboard computers, which helped detect faults early and minimise the risk of derailments, and drivers had undergone refresher driving courses to enhance their skills.