South Africa: SA's Railway Safety Improves

"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: Derailments during the movement of rolling stock declined by 27%, from 337 to 246. Fires and explosions decreased by 24.4%, from 758 to 573. Security-related occurrences declined to 5,710, representing a 33.9% reduction over three years.

Theft of railway assets decreased by 10.2%, while malicious damage and vandalism declined by 15.1%. 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.

Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox 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 rail reform introduces additional operators; and expanding public-awareness initiatives to encourage safer behaviour around railway infrastructure.

The RSR will also strengthen regulatory oversight through audits, inspections, occurrence investigations, and the development and implementation of regulatory standards, while supporting infrastructure recovery and modernisation across the industry. The RSR called on railway operators, infrastructure managers, all spheres of government, law-enforcement agencies, and communities to intensify collaboration, address risks at the rail-public interface, and ensure South Africa's railway system remains safe, resilient, and able to support economic growth and development.

The State of Safety Report 2025/26 is available on the Railway Safety Regulator's website at www.rsr.org.za .