The train control officer in Elandsfontein authorised two trains in the same section of the track at the same time‚ which resulted in the collision of two trains in Kempton Park last week.

This is one of the preliminary findings by the Railway Safety Regulator after concluding its preliminary investigation into the Elandsfontein collision on Thursday which resulted in one death and injuries to 102 passengers.

The regulator is a government agency that investigates accidents and incidents related to railways.

One person killed‚ 100 others injured in train crash: Metrorail

A Metro Express train from Pretoria to Johannesburg collided with another Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa train which was moving out of the Elandsfontein yard.

The regulator said its inquiry revealed that train personnel on duty failed to observe and implement the requirements of “abnormal working” as stipulated in the train working rules.

The investigation also revealed that the authorisation of the express train into the section was not done as per the requirements of the train working rules.

The regulator also found that the hand-over between the night shift and the day shift train control officers was not done properly.

After the collision‚ Metrorail said the collision occurred at a time when trains were manually authorised to move due to theft of signalling power cables that occurred in the early hours of Thursday.

The regulator said a further inquiry into the circumstances that led to this collision would be conducted to obtain detailed information.