The Pretoria train accident occurred on 21 April 2010 when a train of carriages ran away for from Centurion Station and derailed at

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. Three people were killed and seven were seriously injured.

History

On 21 April 2010, a luxury tourist train operated by

Rovos Rail Rovos Rail is a private railway company operating out of Capital Park Station in Pretoria, South Africa. Rovos Rail runs its train-hotel to a regular schedule on various routes throughout Southern Africa, from South Africa to Namibia and Tanza ...

was at Centurion Station where the

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...

was being changed for a Class 25NC

4-8-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type w ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

. During the changeover, the carriages ran away out of control for until they derailed at Pretoria. The accident occurred outside the Blue Train depot. There were 59 passengers and thirty train staff on board the carriages. Three of the train crew were killed, and about R15,000,000 ( £1,338,000) of damage was done to the carriages.

Investigation

The South African authorities opened an investigation into the accident. A board of enquiry was set up. Metrorail and the South African Railway Safety Regulator were represented on the board of enquiry. An initial assessment of the cause of the accident was that the uncoupled carriages had insufficient braking power to prevent the runaway. It is reported that the handbrakes on the carriages had not been applied. As the train was not on level track, scotches (wedges) were also required to be placed under the wheels of the carriages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pretoria runaway Derailments in South Africa Railway accidents in 2010 2010 disasters in South Africa 2010 in South Africa Runaway train disasters Transport in Pretoria April 2010 events in South Africa