RSR report suggests maintenance issues in Paarl train derailment

The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) has finalised and released findings from its preliminary investigation into the recent derailment that occurred on September 17, involving a PRASA train at Dal Josafat Station in Paarl, Western Cape.

RSR says its preliminary findings may point to maintenance issues in the train derailment in which 24 people were injured. The train was en route from Kraaifontein to Wellington Station.

The RSR found that the set of points used to change the direction of the train had slight damage on the right-hand side. It says this led to the leading motor coach with commuters inside taking the intended route while another coach veered left.

The RSR says the reasons for the fault are not known. The regulator says it will request an investigation report from the operator and will follow up on the implementation of corrective action plans.

Based on the extent of the damage, it is suspected that speed might have played a role in the derailment. The section between the Kraaifontein and Wellington is under manual authorisation.

Railway Safety Regulator findings released

In light of this, the RSR says it will request an investigation report from the operator and will follow up on the implementation of corrective action plans.

It stresses that this is an ongoing report, and the final report will be finalised once the RSR team receives and reviews the outstanding information from the Operator and concludes its investigation.