The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has dispatched officials to check on the commuters hospitalised following the derailment of two Metrorail coaches near Paarl in the Western Cape earlier this week, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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The locomotive left the tracks about 600 metres from Dal Josafat station, injuring 25 passengers.
Witnesses reported hearing an unusual, loud noise coming from the train, signalling trouble.
Andrew Martlow recounted, ‘I was watching TV inside when I heard the peculiar sound and jumped out to see what happened. When I went outside, three carriages had already been flung meters away from the train.’
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Passengers began jumping out in a state of shock, helping each other escape.
Martlow’s son, Ulrich, rushed to assist, using a scissor jack to free a person trapped with a thigh wedged between metal. ‘It was a real tragedy to see this,’ Andrew said. ‘If the train had been speeding, the damage would have been much worse.’
According to Raymond Maseko, acting regional manager of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), the train was travelling from Cape Town to Wellington, carrying approximately 300 to 400 commuters.
Of the 25 injured, 14 have since been discharged from the hospital, while others were taken to Paarl Mediclinic, Paarl General Hospital, and Stellenbosch Mediclinic.
Maseko explained that the first three coaches were on the correct track, but the other eight veered onto another track and collided with obstacles.
‘This is the worst derailment I’ve experienced in my career,’ he stated. He noted that typically, a derailment involves cars lying in the same direction, but in this case, the coaches were on their sides, indicating a severe incident.
Prasa Group CEO Hishaam Emeran visited the site to assess the situation first hand. He expressed regret over the accident and confirmed that a report had been sent to their sister company, Transnet, to initiate a thorough investigation.
Emeran also mentioned plans to visit the injured passengers in the hospital to offer support, including counselling and assistance with insurance claims.
While repairs are underway, train services will temporarily stop at Kraaifontein station, per IOL.
Portfolio Committee on Transport Chairperson Donald Selamolela, who was also present at the scene, expressed concern about the impact on commuters’ finances during the service disruption.
He highlighted the importance of the rail line for local economies and the challenges posed by the recovery process.
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