5 March 2001
Minister of Transport, Dullah Omar is concerned about the recent rail transport incidents, which claimed seven lives in the past three weeks. The guttering of the Pretoria Station and the stampede at Park Station are some examples of such incidents. Minister Omar is pro-actively putting mechanisms in place to counter recurrence of similar incidents in future.
On Monday morning the Minister visited Denneboom Railway Station in Mamelodi, to experience first hand the frustrations commuters go through each day. The Minister was extremely concerned about the overcrowding problem at the station’s platform and has since instructed Intersite Management Services to make necessary arrangements to improve the situations at Denneboom Station. The Minister also requested Intersite to conduct an infrastructural audit on all other stations in the country for speedy advancement of solutions to problems.
Minister Omar pledged to make sure trains are comfortable, reliable, attractive, accessible and safe. He said that he would like to make rail a preferred mode of transport for all South Africans. “It remains our responsibility to guarantee safety in all our trains. We would like to move both people and goods from our roads to rail. This can only be achieved if we built confidence in the system for people to use”, Omar said.
In this regard the Minister will be meeting with all key stakeholders in the rail sector, namely; Transnet MD Mr. Mafika Mkhwanazi; Spoornet CEO, Mr. Zandile Jakavula, Metrorail CEO, Mr. Honey Mateya; South African Rail Commuter Corporation MD, Mr. Ben van der Ross and Intersite MD, Mr. Jack Prentice, to jointly map out the way forward on how rail transport should operate effectively. The team will also be tasked with putting up suggestions on how to improve and implement inter-modalism among trains, taxis and busses.
Minister also urged Metrorail and the SARCC to install communications facilities at stations for liaising with commuters and the general public. Security personnel will be placed at strategic positions to keep order and control. “Training of security personnel should be prioritised to ensure that they are able to respond accordingly to unruly crowds”, Omar said.
He visited Transwerk based at Koedoespoort where all trains are being refurbished and overhauled. Other trains currently in operation will also frequently be taken to Transwerk for servicing and maintenance.
ISSUED BY:
Mike Mabasa