The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has rejected claims that 13 locomotives acquired from Spain earlier this year are not safe for local use.
Prasa CEO Lucky Montana told a media conference in Pretoria on Monday afternoon that the locomotives not only meet local safety standards but exceed them.
The government has been castigated by opposition parties for going ahead and purchasing the locomotives despite warnings from Prasa engineers that they are unsuitable for local railway lines because they exceed height restrictions for long-distance railway lines for which they are intended.
According to Democratic Alliance spokesman on transports matters Manny de Freitas‚ the new locomotives – recently imported at a cost of R600 million — have a roof height of 4‚264mm while the maximum height for diesel locomotives for local use may not exceed 3‚965mm.
“Engineers say the locomotives could damage the overhead electrical cables on the country’s rail lines‚” he said.
But Montana denied this‚ saying reports and statements to this effect were “misplaced and ill-informed”.
He said the locomotives were currently been tested and they “don’t only meet but exceed” local standards.
The locomotives are part of a larger order of 70 locomotives valued at of R3.5 billion from Spanish manufacturer Vossloh Espaa.
The DA‚ the Freedom Fighters (EFF) party and the Congress and Congress of the People (Cope) party have all called for an investigation into the procurement of the locomotives‚ in light of reports about them being too high for the local rail system.
New locomotives exceed local safety standards: Prasa
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has rejected claims that 13 locomotives acquired from Spain earlier this year are not safe for local use.
Prasa CEO Lucky Montana told a media conference in Pretoria on Monday afternoon that the locomotives not only meet local safety standards but exceed them.
The government has been castigated by opposition parties for going ahead and purchasing the locomotives despite warnings from Prasa engineers that they are unsuitable for local railway lines because they exceed height restrictions for long-distance railway lines for which they are intended.
According to Democratic Alliance spokesman on transports matters Manny de Freitas‚ the new locomotives – recently imported at a cost of R600 million — have a roof height of 4‚264mm while the maximum height for diesel locomotives for local use may not exceed 3‚965mm.
“Engineers say the locomotives could damage the overhead electrical cables on the country’s rail lines‚” he said.
But Montana denied this‚ saying reports and statements to this effect were “misplaced and ill-informed”.
He said the locomotives were currently been tested and they “don’t only meet but exceed” local standards.
The locomotives are part of a larger order of 70 locomotives valued at of R3.5 billion from Spanish manufacturer Vossloh Espaa.
The DA‚ the Freedom Fighters (EFF) party and the Congress and Congress of the People (Cope) party have all called for an investigation into the procurement of the locomotives‚ in light of reports about them being too high for the local rail system.
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