Durban — eThekwini residents have urged Parliament’s transport portfolio committee to implement the Railway Safety Bill.
Speaking after public hearings on the bill in KwaZulu-Natal, committee chairperson Lisa Mangcu said residents’ safety concerns had led to a move away from rail as a preferred mode of transport, as too had high rail travel costs.
The public hearings were held in Richards Bay, Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
Mangcu said: “There was a general consensus that the availability of trains will lessen the current pressure caused by high travel costs, especially for the poor.”
Many residents had raised concerns that the bill focused more on operators than it did on railway users, and said it must be people-centric.
Mangcu said: “In line with this, there was a suggestion that the bill must establish an entity similar to the Road Accident Fund to process claims lodged by people involved in railway accidents.”
He also noted that residents attending the hearings had highlighted their concerns about the effects theft and vandalism of rail infrastructure have on their safety.
“To remedy this, participants called for closer collaboration between rail operators and communities living near railway lines as a means to fight this scourge. Participants argued for enhanced collaboration with the South African Police Service to enhance safety.”
Participants also called for monitoring and evaluation systems to be strengthened to ensure effective implementation of the bill once it became law.
Mangcu said: “The committee appreciated the substantive inputs received from residents of KwaZulu-Natal and assured participants that their views will strengthen the bill and contribute to making the railway system stronger.”
He said participants had suggested the cost of upgrading and maintaining road infrastructure would be reduced as people and goods moved from road to rail transport as a direct result of a safer railway environment. They had also said that moving people and goods from road to rail would reduce road fatalities.
Mangcu said the committee would conduct further public hearings in other provinces before deliberating and considering all inputs.
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