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I will invite PRASA to appear before the Western Cape Standing Committee on Transport to provide an update on its promised rail improvement and repairs process. As well as to ascertain the impact of trucks on road safety in light of limited rail services.

The poor state of the country’s rail infrastructure has robbed industries of a key means of transportation. We have also in recent months witnessed horrific truck-related accidents on the country’s roads.

Rail remains a safer and cheaper form of transportation for industrial goods. If National Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula does not act quickly to fix the challenges in rail, the situation on our roads will only intensify. The National Department of Transport has failed to ensure that trains run efficiently to be utilised for business purposes to transport industrial goods that would otherwise be too heavy of a load to be transported on the road by trucks.

Recently, it was discovered during an oversight visit to the Matzikama Municipality that heavy trucks are being used while numerous mining applications are still pending, indicating that more trucks will be released onto the road once approval has been granted. If there was a strong rail network, mining companies could switch from using trucks to trains. Sanral must, therefore, immediately indicate how they are going to deal with this crisis.

The Standing Committee on Transport looks forward to engaging with PRASA on this matter and finding reasonable strategies that will bring rail back to full operation while decreasing road accidents.

The DA in the Western Cape will continue to ensure that PRASA regularly engages with the Standing Committee to address rail-related challenges.

Issued by Ricardo Mackenzie, MPP - DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Transport