Africa-Press – Botswana. The report by the board of inquiry on the fatal train accident at Bonwapitse on December 10, 2019 was submitted to Cabinet and the National Assembly and a decision was made that the report should be made public in December 2021.
The Assistant Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Keoagile Atamelang told Parliament yesterday that in the case of the Phakalane incident, which occurred on November 2022, the accident occurred because the truck had occupied the level crossing and was not able to move through quickly when the train was too close, resulting in the collision.
The assistant minister said the Phakalane accident was recorded as a police case, and had to be processed through the courts for closure. He said the truck owners were charged for negligence, resulting in loss of lives and damage to property.
Mr Atamelang further explained that the Bonwapitse accident report was made public while the Phakalane level crossing accident did not result in a public inquiry, hence there was no report that could be shared with the public. He also said the Botswana Railways Signalling System was installed and commissioned by Ansaldo Signalling in 2008.
Mr Atamelang added that the same contractor was contracted to maintain the system for a period of eight years until 2016, and from there the maintenance of the system was then handed over to Botswana Railways for management and maintenance.
The Botswana Railways for purposes of continued operational efficiency and maintenance, he said, absorbed all the technical local employees who were initially employed by Ansaldo Signalling to maintain the signalling system. He added that the maintenance of the signalling system was a routine on-going activity to ensure its efficiency and functionality, and therefore Botswana Railways personnel are continuously doing maintenance in-house.
The assistant minister highlighted that the challenge with the signalling system was the obsolescence of some of the subsystems’ components, as it had been difficult to readily source maintenance parts in the market, adding that at the current moment, the system was not fully functional.
Although, the ultimate solution lies in the upgrade of the entire system, which requires substantial capital injection, he said Botswana Railways continued to explore different ways to keep the system working. He said these include, modifications to the power supply systems and creating virtual versions of physical resources (virtualisation), especially in IT-related areas.
Mr Atamelang also said Botswana Railways was also exploring partnerships with other institutions like BIUST to come up with innovative ways to enhance the signalling system performance.
MP for Selebi Phikwe West, Mr Reuben Kaizer had wanted the minister to apprise on the status of the report of train accidents at Bonwapitse and Phakalane and further state when the report of the two accidents would be released. He also wanted to know the last time Botswana Railways Signalling System was maintained and if it was currently operational and if not, the mitigation strategies in place to arrest the situation.
Source: dailynews
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