Railway Safety Regulator: SA Safety Improves, Fatalities Remain Concern

While South Africa's overall railway safety performance has improved for a third consecutive year, rising fatalities and persistent risks at the rail-public interface remain a concern. This was highlighted in the State of Safety Report 2025/26, released by the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) on Wednesday. According to the report, total railway occurrences fell by 9.9%, from 9 200 in 2024/25 to 8 288 in 2025/26, the lowest number recorded in five years. Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines During the reporting period, injuries declined by 14.8%, from 419 to 357. RSR Chief Executive Officer Brian Monakali welcomed the positive trajectory but cautioned against complacency. "The continued reduction in overall occurrences is encouraging and demonstrates that interventions across the railway sector are beginning to yield results. However, fewer occurrences do not necessarily mean that the railway environment is safe enough. Our ultimate measure of success must be the prevention of fatalities and injuries," Monakali said in a statement. Despite the overall improvement, 175 fatalities were recorded during the reporting period, a 25.9% increase from the previous year and 19.5% above the five-year average. Members of the public accounted for 95.4% of all fatalities. Seventy-six people were struck by trains, while 65 fatalities involved bodies found within railway reserves. Monakali stressed the need for decisive action at the rail-public interface. "The fatality figures are a stark reminder that railway safety is not solely the responsibility of railway operators. The overwhelming majority of fatalities involve members of the public, which means that we need a whole-of-society response. Government, operators, municipalities, law enforcement and communities must work together to change behaviour, secure railway corridors and protect lives," he said. The report further indicates that level crossings remain a significant concern, with occurrences increasing by 25.4% during the reporting period. Unsafe road-user behaviour continues to contribute to collisions between trains and road vehicles. The RSR has committed to strengthening collaboration with operators, road authorities and communities, supported by targeted public education, enforcement and engineering interventions at high-risk locations. Theft and vandalism of critical railway infrastructure also remain significant threats. Despite a substantial decline in security-related occurrences, more than 5,700 incidents were recorded during the reporting period, affecting signalling systems, telecommunications and overhead traction equipment. The report records significant improvements across several safety indicators: RSR priorities for 2026/27 Monakali said the progress reflected in the report gives the regulator confidence that improvement is possible, but it also places a greater responsibility on the RSR to accelerate the work required to make the railway system safer. "The RSR remains committed to working with the entire sector to build a culture of safety, accountability and continuous improvement," he said. To improve safety overall, the RSR will focus its regulatory interventions on reducing fatalities along high-risk routes and at high-risk locations, strengthening the protection of railway reserves, improving level-crossing safety, and enhancing passenger safety at stations and platform-train interfaces. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Other priorities include supporting operators in accelerating signalling modernisation; protecting safety-critical infrastructure from theft and vandalism; strengthening maintenance compliance and asset management; improving interface management as