Investigators from the Railway Safety Regulator have been dispatched to begin the probe into a collision between a train and a bakkie which left seven people dead in Cape Town on Saturday.
The regulator said that “inspectors are currently at the scene to conduct a preliminary investigation and to establish the root cause of the accident”.
“According to information at the Regulator’s disposal, the incident occurred at dawn and was reported to the RSR at 06:19,” the Regulator said in a statement.
“The bakkie was following a taxi on Frederick Road, parallel to the railway track approaching the Buttskop Level Crossing. As the train was approaching the crossing, the taxi drove across and the bakkie followed the taxi, but was unfortunately hit by the train.”
The level crossing is protected by boom gates and flashing lights.
The Railway Safety Regulator has appealed to the public and all road and rail users to always take safety precautions, follow the road rules and signage, be vigilant at all times when approaching a railway level crossing.
“It is very sad and extremely concerning that this level crossing has yet again claimed the lives of road users. We need to re-double our efforts on our collaborations in enforcing the rail-road interface rules to ensure the safety of our people. One life lost is one life too many,” said the RSR Acting CEO, Tshepo Kgare.
The RSR said it continuously conducts information sessions nationally with all operators on its standards to ensure a common and consistent approach to railway safety in areas including safety management, technical and operational requirements as well as human factor management.
“The RSR also conducts public awareness campaigns nationally; educates the public about the dangers of not adhering to the rules of the road when at a level crossings. The success of safety campaigns requires the participation and co-operation of all stakeholders, including the public.”
The United National Transport Union said it was deeply distressed and saddened by the loss of seven people that were killed after a train collided with a bakkie at the Buttskop level crossing in Blackheath in Cape Town this morning.
“It is horrific that innocent lives of workers are lost because the driver did not take caution at the level crossing. UNTU cannot emphisize the importance of looking before crossing a level crossing enough and have warned motorist about the dangers thereof repeatedly in the past,” said Steve Harris, General Secretary of UNTU.
“This is the same railway crossing where ten children lost their lives when a train crashed into a taxi in 2010,” he said.
In January a passenger train collided with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad in the Free State, killing 21 people and injuring 254 people.
“Depending on the speed, a train will only come to a complete standstill when it applies its emergency break procedure in between 500 m and 1 km. There is nothing a train driver can do to prevent a coalition if a motorist does not take caution,” Harris said.
