Level crossing safety raises ire of political parties after Philippi train station incident

CAPE TOWN - Level crossing safety has once again raised the ire of political parties in the Western Cape following an incident at the Philippi train station.

A train collided with a stationary minibus taxi at the station's level crossing on Wednesday morning.

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No fatalities or injuries were reported but it led to disruptions on the recently launched central line.

The GOOD Party's Brett Herron said rail crossings, especially in high-traffic, densely populated areas, must be upgraded immediately.

Herron said there's no justification for continued inaction while lives are endangered.

"In 2010, at the Blackheath level crossing in Cape Town, a collision occurred which saw 10 children being killed in a minibus taxi. The driver was initially convicted of murder and attempted murder, later reduced to culpable homicide on appeal. But following that devastating incident, there was a public outcry and a commitment was made by both the city and the Western Cape province and other authorities to improve safety at railway crossings."

The Democratic Alliance (DA)'s Nomafrench Mbombo said that the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and the Railway Safety Regulator must appear before the provincial standing committee on mobility to account for unsafe level crossings in the Cape.

"We are calling on PRASA to provide the standing committee on mobility in the Western Cape, provide us with how many level crossings are there in the province, also, what measures related to the risk and also to protecting anyone crossing, especially when the train is already in movement."