The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) would not be drawn into commenting on whether their recent re-opening of a railway line between Jeppestown and George Goch in Johannesburg had anything to do with the collapse of a pedestrian foot bridge running over the railway line.
Two people were injured when the bridge collapsed on Wednesday afternoon.
Prasa said an investigation into what led to the collapse of the footbridge is under way. The agency is investigating whether the infrastructure was assessed before the rail line was opened and if maintenance was done.
Prasa had recently recovered the line and was running test trains when the bridge collapsed.
“We are investigating the footbridge collapse. We will be in a position to shed more details once the investigation is complete,” said Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda.
A street hawker who sells fruit near the bridge told TimesLIVE this was a disaster waiting to happen.
Tebogo Masenga said the steel footbridge started shaking when the trains resumed operations on Monday.
Masenga, who sells fruit on the side of the road, just a few metres away from the bridge, said pedestrians were crossing the bridge even though it was already visible that it could collapse.
He added that recently technicians were installing electric cables along the railway line.
“They were fitting cables at some point recently. They should have checked the bridge. They don’t check or maintain their infrastructure, it was a disaster waiting to happen,” he said.
Emergency services attended to the two injured pedestrians (a male and a female aged between 21 and 25) who were on the bridge at the time.
One of them suffered injuries so serious that their leg could be amputated.
The collapse of the bridge also led to damage of overhead traction equipment.
Joburg pedestrian bridge collapse was a ‘disaster waiting to happen’
Image: Prasa
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) would not be drawn into commenting on whether their recent re-opening of a railway line between Jeppestown and George Goch in Johannesburg had anything to do with the collapse of a pedestrian foot bridge running over the railway line.
Two people were injured when the bridge collapsed on Wednesday afternoon.
Prasa said an investigation into what led to the collapse of the footbridge is under way. The agency is investigating whether the infrastructure was assessed before the rail line was opened and if maintenance was done.
Prasa had recently recovered the line and was running test trains when the bridge collapsed.
“We are investigating the footbridge collapse. We will be in a position to shed more details once the investigation is complete,” said Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda.
A street hawker who sells fruit near the bridge told TimesLIVE this was a disaster waiting to happen.
Tebogo Masenga said the steel footbridge started shaking when the trains resumed operations on Monday.
Masenga, who sells fruit on the side of the road, just a few metres away from the bridge, said pedestrians were crossing the bridge even though it was already visible that it could collapse.
He added that recently technicians were installing electric cables along the railway line.
“They were fitting cables at some point recently. They should have checked the bridge. They don’t check or maintain their infrastructure, it was a disaster waiting to happen,” he said.
Emergency services attended to the two injured pedestrians (a male and a female aged between 21 and 25) who were on the bridge at the time.
One of them suffered injuries so serious that their leg could be amputated.
The collapse of the bridge also led to damage of overhead traction equipment.
Image: Phathu Luvhengo/TimesLIVE
The Germiston to Johannesburg line is part of the 16 corridors that Prasa has prioritised to rebuild and recover in this financial year.
The agency’s Gauteng infrastructure team was on site on Thursday and has started reinstalling the electrical overhead infrastructure.
On Thursday afternoon, the line had been re-opened. Prasa said once signals are confirmed, the service will be opened to commuters.
TimesLIVE
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