Speaking at The New Age Business Briefing in Cape Town, Minister of Transport Benedict Martins said that the increasing number of deaths at railway crossings is influenced by people who live near the level crossings and his department will be dealing with this.

“It is very unfortunate and tragic that people die at level crossings but it’s also a function of a number of factors. Where you have level crossings unfortunately you also find that there are number of informal settlements very close to railways,” he said.

Martins said that he is saddened because some of these issues are not reported on.

“There are instances where people have built very close to the railway lines and that comes with many dangers where you find children playing on the railway lines and others have been killed by trains,” he said.

He added that reckless driving also contributes to related deaths because taxi drivers take chances with other people’s lives and they don’t respect the rules of the roads.

Martins said that amongst other things he is willing to change is the need find an alternative solution to transport commuters during transport related strikes.

“When bus and taxi drivers go on strike, the facilities to move people to their points of employment or homes won’t be available and it has an impact on people, we need to find way of ensuring that when there’s pressure in one sector, the other sectors can provide an efficient service,” said Martins.

He also said that the issue of people burning trains need to be dealt with because it costs them a lot of money.

“In the past you had railway police but I’m aware that Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has also given attention to this, to have safety officers on trains to ensure commuters are safe and this will make sure it is difficult for criminal elements to set trains on fire” he added.

 

 

Source: http://www.thenewage.co.za