Safety tops in new train fleet

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa CEO Lucky Montana said on Wednesday that the new trains would have safety features that will slow the train down if a driver ignores a rail signal.

The train is the Xtrapolis Mega, which will have a top speed of 120km/h and could be in use by the end of the year.

Montana made this announcement as the agency made public its preliminary findings of the crash that killed one person and left 240 injured.

According to a preliminary finding, said Mosenngwa Mofi, Prasa group CEO, the accident was caused when the driver of a speeding Business Express train allegedly failed to stop at a red signal.

The train then slammed into the rear of a stationary Metro Plus train. A microprocessor, the equivalent of a black box in a train, revealed to investigators that the Business Express train, 90 seconds before the accident, was travelling at 105km/h. The speed limit on the track is 90km/h.

The driver of the Business Express train, it was also revealed, had an excellent safety record.

Source: The Times