Commuters risk injury at Athlone station
ANOTHER QUERY SORTED - GH
Rail commuters risked injury crossing the tracks at Athlone train station because of a subway that was flooded for more than a month, says a woman who claims to have injured her hand as a result of this.
Zoelfa Essop, a clothing-pattern maker from Athlone, says she plans to seek compensation from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa after injuring her hand at the station on Monday August 12.
The subway had been flooded by heavy rains, forcing commuters to cross the tracks and step onto stacked bricks to get off and on the platforms, Ms Essop said, adding that it had been while pressing down on the platform to get up that she had injured herself, causing her to take a day off work.
Prasa should rather build an overhead bridge because the subway was a target of repeated vandalism and had been flooded for more than a month, she said.
“Can I claim compensation from Prasa or would they prefer for me to turn into roadkill before they pay life-long compensation to my family for loss of income? It's more than a month now, and I urge Prasa, or whoever is responsible, to remedy this situation.
“This corridor also grants me access to the shopping district, taxis and buses. I urge the relevant parties to initiate a clean-up as soon as possible. Every day my levels of anxiety increase when it's time for my kids to arrive, always wondering are they safe.
“A lady with crutches who needed to get to work was also struggling. I also noticed a lady handing over her baby to security so she could jump off the platform in time to board her train. Absolutely ridiculous.”
Prasa spokeswoman Zinobulali Mihi said that the subway had been drained and repaired on Thursday August 15 and security had been improved.
Vandalism had knocked out the electrical pumps that were supposed to stop the subway flooding, she said.
Ms Mihi said that Ms Essop should report the incident at the station where it had happened and present a valid train ticket for the matter to be addressed by Prasa’s business risk department.
“All injuries that occur within the rail space are reported to the Railway Safety Regulator, specifically platform-related incidents... Prasa, as a responsible operator, takes responsibility where our safety standards fall short,” she said.
Meanwhile, there are plans to overhaul a derelict ticket office as part of the planned improvements for the station, according to Sandie Mase, the acting regional manager of Prasa’s property division.
“A part of the ticket office will continue to be used as a ticket office as there is no ticket office on that side of the station. The other portion of the building we are looking at commercialising,” she said.
Built in 2012, the ticket office had been occupied by vagrants and criminals before Prasa boarded it up in 2020 ("Station invasion headache,“ Athlone News, April 22, 2020).
