Regulator hails rail safety law

Incidents in 2023-24 led to 74 deaths, with theft, vandalism main contributors.

- Brian Sokutu

With the rail safety environment rocked by a high rate of operational occurrences - a 36.17% increase in the 2023-24 reporting period - the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) is welcoming the president's signing of the Railway Safety Bill into law recently.

RSR spokesperson Madelein Williams said the strengthening of the regulatory framework was a transformative moment for railway safety in South Africa.

It would ensure "consistency with international standards, particularly those in the Southern African Development Community".

Seeking to repeal the National Railway Safety Regulator Act of 2002, which was last amended in 2009, the new law:

Provides for the regulation of railway safety in the country, recognising that safe railway operations are fundamental to the safety of all persons and the environment;

Provides for the regulation of railway safety and for the continued existence of the Railway Safety Regulator;

Introduces railway safety permits, a national railway safety information and monitoring system; and Recognises that safe railway operations promote the use of rail as an efficient mode of transport and that the effective provision of railway safety demands uniform policy, norms and standards.