South Africa’s accident-prone rail network is disrupting the economy, including the mining industry, and claiming hundreds of lives each year. In its State of Safety Report 2023/24 tabled in parliament, the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) found there was a 36% increase in "operational occurrences" — accidents involving freight and passenger trains. It said ports and rail utility Transnet and Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) were responsible for 90% of the accidents. There were 2,496 operational occurances during the period under review, which resulted in 85 deaths and 181 injuries. There were also 7,420 security-related incidents, resulting in a further 74 fatalities and 98 injuries. The regulator — an entity of the department of transport responsible for upholding safety on the rail network — reported 687 collisions and 278 derailments in the period under reviewRSR acting CEO Mmuso Selaledi told Business Times that derailments, collisions and other incidents on the n...

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