Rail line closed after collision
2010-09-10 18:04
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Johannesburg - The railway line between Angus and Mpilisweni stations east of Johannesburg is closed following the collision between two trains earlier on Friday.
The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) said the line would be back in operation at the weekend.
"The rail line is expected to be fully operational over the weekend," the agency's chief operating officer Ngabi Mareko said.
Thirty-one people were injured, 14 of them seriously, when two trains collided at the Angus railway station in Alberton shortly before noon on Friday.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said 31 of the 56 people in the passenger train were injured. Seventeen escaped with minor injuries.
"Miraculously, the rest of the passengers were uninjured in this horrific accident," he said.
Metrorail spokesperson Tu Dlamini said the injured had been taken to various East Rand hospitals.
The passenger train from Vereeniging was heading to Germiston when it slammed into the back of a freight train at about 11.35am.
The cause of the accident was not known, she said.
Mareko said a normal train service would operate between Vereeniging and Kliprivier.
A bus shuttle service for commuters with valid train tickets would operate Friday afternoon, between Kliprivier and Natalspruit.
The Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) said it has issued a directive prohibiting the use of the signalling system on the mainline between Vereeniging and Natalspruit, following the collision.
In a statement its said investigators determined that certain signalling cables had been damaged by construction works near Mpilisweni station.
"This resulted in intermittent and unpredictable signalling faults occurring, which necessitated trains being authorised manually."
The inspectors felt the situation would result in unsafe or inconsistent authorisations being issued, prohibited the use of the affected signalling system until the faults have been rectified and an adequate level of reliability restored to the satisfaction of the regulator.
- SAPA