Hanoi:South Africa's overall railway safety performance has improved for a third consecutive year, although rising fatalities and persistent risks at the rail-public interface continue to be a significant concern.
According to South African Government News Agency, the State of Safety Report 2025/26, released by the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR), shows a 9.9% decrease in total railway occurrences, from 9,200 in 2024/25 to 8,288 in 2025/26, marking the lowest number in five years. Injuries also declined by 14.8%, from 419 to 357 during this period.
RSR Chief Executive Officer Brian Monakali expressed approval of this positive trend but warned against becoming complacent. He emphasized that fewer occurrences do not guarantee a safe railway environment, stating that the ultimate goal should be the prevention of fatalities and injuries.
Despite the improvements, 175 fatalities were recorded, a 25.9% increase from the previous year and 19.5% above the five-year average. Public members accounted for 95.4% of all fatalities, with incidents including 76 people struck by trains and 65 fatalities involving bodies found within railway reserves. Monakali highlighted the necessity for decisive action at the rail-public interface, urging collaboration among government, operators, municipalities, law enforcement, and communities to secure railway corridors and protect lives.
The report also notes that level crossings remain a significant concern, with occurrences increasing by 25.4%. Unsafe road-user behavior continues to lead to collisions between trains and road vehicles. The RSR plans to enhance collaboration with operators, road authorities, and communities, backed by public education, enforcement, and engineering interventions at high-risk locations.
Theft and vandalism of critical railway infrastructure are also ongoing threats. Despite a significant decline in security-related occurrences, more than 5,700 incidents were recorded, impacting signalling systems, telecommunications, and overhead traction equipment.
Significant improvements were recorded across several safety indicators, including a 27% decline in derailments during the movement of rolling stock, a 24.4% decrease in fires and explosions, and a 33.9% reduction in security-related occurrences over three years. Theft of railway assets decreased by 10.2%, and malicious damage and vandalism declined by 15.1%.
For 2026/27, the RSR plans to concentrate on reducing fatalities along high-risk routes, protecting railway reserves, improving level-crossing safety, and enhancing passenger safety at stations. Other priorities include supporting signalling modernisation, safeguarding infrastructure from theft and vandalism, strengthening maintenance compliance, improving interface management with new operators, and expanding public-awareness initiatives.
The RSR will also enhance regulatory oversight through audits, inspections, and occurrence investigations, aiming to support infrastructure recovery and modernisation across the industry. The regulator calls for intensified collaboration among railway operators, infrastructure managers, government, law enforcement, and communities to ensure the safety, resilience, and economic growth of South Africa's railway system.