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Railway Safety Act, 2024 (Act No. 30 of 2024)Chapter 6 : Enforcement47. Powers of railway safety inspector to deal with unsafe conditions |
| (1) | Subject to subsection (3), if the railway safety inspector has good reason to believe that a condition or activity is a threat or might be a threat to safe railway operations, the railway safety inspector may submit a written report to the affected operator, stating the reasons for believing that the condition or activity is a threat or might be a threat to safe railway operations, and allow the operator a reasonable opportunity to respond to the report. |
| (2) | If the railway safety inspector is not satisfied with the response from the operator or if the operator fails to respond to the report, the railway safety inspector may, in writing, issue a directive— |
| (a) | restricting or suspending that condition or activity, or the railway operation itself; |
| (b) | placing a condition on the continuation of that activity; or |
| (c) | specifying what action must be taken within a specified time by that person to remove the threat. |
| (3) | If there is a threat to safe railway operations that poses an immediate or imminent risk of serious danger to persons, property or the environment, the railway safety inspector may, despite subsections (1) and (2), after engaging orally with the operator or a person who ostensibly is in charge of the relevant premises or rolling stock, issue a directive, in writing, as contemplated in subsection (2). |
| (4) | Subject to section 57(3), any person who fails or refuses to comply with a directive within the period specified in the directive, is guilty of an offence, unless an appeal has been lodged in terms of subsection (5), which has not yet been finalised. |
| (5) | Any person who is aggrieved by a directive issued in terms of subsection (3), may lodge an appeal contemplated in section 54. |
| (6) | An appeal lodged as contemplated in subsection (5) does not prevent a person from obtaining urgent relief from a competent court of law. |
| (7) | A railway safety inspector may issue compliance notices and penalties contemplated in section 67. |
