'Human error is always an issue when it comes to manual train authorisation'

Railways Africa Magazine owner Phillippa Dean shares some of the issues around rail safety and what causes accidents.

Owner and Publisher Railways Africa Magazine, Phillippa Dean says there are a number of contributing factors where railway accidents are concerned but human error seems to be a reoccurring issue.

On Tuesday, Metrorail confirmed a train collision which left nearly 200 people injured in Germiston, may have been caused by human error.

It's understood trains were being manually directed because of a problem with signal cables when the incident occurred.

READ: Metrorail's Lillian Mofokeng says no fatalities in yet another train accident

This is the second accident this year, after 19 people were killed and dozens more were injured when a train collided with a truck outside Kroonstad in the Free State last week.

ALSO READ: Prasa: Truck driver in Kroonstad train crash faces culpable homicide charge

Human error is always an issue when it comes to manual train authorisation.

Phillippa Dean, Owner and Publisher Railways Africa Magazine

Unfortunately, things like this are human error, so its either a training or skills, but there is also greater impact around why the signal cables were not available at the time. So I mean cable theft, power failure. There are a number of contributing factors.

Phillippa Dean, Owner and Publisher Railways Africa Magazine

Click on the link below to listen to hear more about some of the common causes of train collisions...

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