The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) on Thursday said it has issued the Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) with a temporary safety permit.

RSR spokesperson Madelein Williams said the temporary safety permit would be valid from 2 until 31 August 2018.

“It is the view of the RSR that the issuance of a Temporary Safety Permit will assist Prasa in continuing with their operations, but most importantly, provide Prasa with another opportunity to develop robust action plans that will address the identified inadequacies.”

William said that the RSR also issued Prasa with a Contravention Notice for operating trains on Wednesday without being in possession of a valid Safety Permit.

“It is the RSR’s legislative obligation, as an authority responsible for overseeing rail safety, to ensure that operators demonstrate the highest levels of commitment towards the safety of railway operations customers, staff, contractors, visitors and others who may be affected by its railway operations,” concluded Williams.

The regulator had on Wednesday announced that Prasa was operating without a valid safety permit after the previous permit expired on Tuesday.