The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) has finalised and released findings from its preliminary investigation into the recent derailment that occurred on 17 September, involving a PRASA train, at Dal Josafat Station (Paarl), in the Western Cape. This preliminary report provides details on crucial aspects surrounding the derailment, that resulted in twenty-four (24) people getting injured, with three (3) people critically injured. All passengers were taken by emergency services for medical attention.
It was reported that a PRASA train with passengers, was enroute from Kraaifontein to Wellington Station, traversing on a down mainline on the Transnet Freight Rail network. The train had three motor coaches i.e. the leading, middle and the trailing, with eight plain trailers. Upon arrival at the scene, the RSR inspectors observed that the leading coach and two trailers had derailed.
The RSR investigation found that turnout (set of points), which are used to change the direction of the train, had slight damage on the right hand side blade. This led to the leading motor coach with commuters inside taking the intended route and the first plain trailer coach also with commuters inside taking the left turn. Therefore, the rest of the coaches followed the first plain trailer coach with commuters to the left, resulting in a derailment. The reasons for the fault at the turnout is not immediately known and may point to possible issues related to maintenance.
Based on the extent of the damage, it is suspected that speed might have played a role in the derailment. The section between the Kraaifontein and Wellington is under manual authorisation.
In light of this, the RSR will request an investigation report from the operator and will follow-up on the implementation of corrective action plans. This is an ongoing report, and the final report will be finalised once the RSR team receives and reviews the outstanding information from the Operator and concludes its investigation.
