Safety is pivotal in TFR, a key priority area ensuring that our operations are executed with a safety mind-set in delivering on the business tonnages.
Our Safety is managed with an Integrated Safety Management System, safeguarding safe working practices throughout Transnet Freight Rail. Since 2002, safety in Transnet Freight Rail is regulated by the Railway Safety Regulator, which was appointed in terms of the National Railway Safety Regulator Act of 2002. Our greatest assets in safety are people- our employees, communities, customers and stakeholders in organisations working with us.
Captain Track is TFR’s official safety mascot who engages our stakeholders on railway safety regularly. Captain Track has a comic booklet and for schoolchildren, school calendars, wall time tables that ensure that our railway safety messages are imbedded in our future generations.
Safety campaigns in TFR are initiatives that tie up with the national strategy to mitigate the risk of incidents that include public injuries and fatalities as a consequence of railway operations. The objectives of the campaigns are to demonstrate that taking risks at level crossings is dangerous and can be fatal if traffic rules and safety messages are not abided.
TFR Level crossing safety campaign
Our interactive safety level crossing campaign is awareness driven targeting pedestrians, motorists and communities in close proximity to our railway lines nationally at the public at large. Level crossing campaigns are conducted occasionally in covey feedback from our stakeholders on railway safety.
Stakeholders who are in partnership during our level crossings:
- Road Traffic Management Corporation
- Community Policing Forums
- South African Council of Churches
- Judiciary , Liquor Association
- Department of Safety and Security – Gauteng
- DOT – Decade of Action
- Schools situated next to railway lines
- SAPS
- Railway Safety Regulator
- PRASA
Back 2 School safety campaign
The Back 2 School Campaign is awareness and education focuses on rail safety for schools as well as the communities in close proximity to where TFR operates in. The campaign reinforces the importance of rail safety, as well as to encourage the learners and educators to further disseminate safety messages. Safety messages come as no new lesson to the learners who over the past couple of years have grown accustomed to Captain Track’s important lessons .
Stealing TFR assets
There are various problematic issues affecting TFR’s day to day operations in the acts of theft and vandalism of TFR assets. Theft and vandalism of Transnet Freight Rail assets contribute to the poor service delivery that in turn has an impact on the business, our clients and the South African economy. We have communities that have volunteered to partner with TFR security officials and assist with patrols near the railway lines during their routine community street patrol shifts. They form part of our scrap yard visits with the police as they are more likely to identify the suspects in situations where TFR materials/assets are found at Scrap Yard Dealers.
