The workshop brought together senior officials from railway regulatory authorities and operators across the Southern African Development Community region. Delegates discussed common and emerging railway safety challenges, regulatory approaches and areas for enhanced cooperation, and the technical tour on the Southern Line gave them first-hand experience of South Africa’s passenger rail environment and of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s efforts to recover passenger rail services.
The Railway Safety Regulator said the outcomes of the workshop will feed into the annual SARA Rail Conference and Exhibition in Johannesburg the following week, where insights from the regional engagement will be shared with railway operators, regulators, policymakers and other industry stakeholders.
The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) hosted a two-day Railway Regulators Association of Southern Africa (RRASA) workshop on 15 and 16 October 2026 on behalf of the Association’s current Secretariat, Angola’s National Agency for Land Transport (ANTT), in Cape Town. The workshop brought together senior officials from railway regulatory authorities and operators across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to strengthen regional cooperation on railway safety, regulatory alignment and interoperability.
A key highlight of the workshop was the collaboration between the RSR and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) on a technical tour along the Southern Line, from Cape Town Station to Kalk Bay Station. The tour provided the delegates with an opportunity to experience South Africa’s passenger rail environment firsthand and gain insight into PRASA’s ongoing efforts to recover passenger rail services, modernise infrastructure, improve operational performance and strengthen railway safety.
The technical tour afforded PRASA a unique opportunity to showcase progress in restoring passenger rail services and implementing initiatives aimed at improving the reliability, efficiency and safety of its operations. Through this practical engagement, delegates were able to gain a better understanding of the operational environment, infrastructure developments and safety considerations that underpin the delivery of passenger rail services.
The collaboration between the RSR and PRASA underscores the importance of cooperation between railway regulators and operators in advancing a safe, reliable and sustainable railway sector. By facilitating direct engagement between PRASA and regional decision-makers, the tour created an opportunity for knowledge exchange on operational improvements, safety management practices and the challenges associated with restoring and maintaining passenger rail services.
For the RSR, the technical tour formed an important part of its broader efforts to promote regional regulatory cooperation and strengthen relationships among railway stakeholders. While regulatory frameworks and operating environments differ across SADC countries, shared learning and practical collaboration can help identify common solutions to railway safety challenges and support greater alignment in safety oversight.
The engagement also highlighted the value of partnerships between regulators and operators in advancing railway safety objectives. Through initiatives of this nature, the RSR and PRASA can contribute to a stronger regional railway community in which experience, technical knowledge and lessons learned are shared to improve safety outcomes and support the development of more integrated rail networks.
The two-day workshop provided a platform for delegates to discuss common and emerging railway safety challenges, exchange experiences on regulatory approaches and identify practical areas for enhanced cooperation. The technical tour complemented these discussions by translating regional policy and regulatory dialogue into a practical engagement with passenger rail operations.
The outcomes of the workshop will feed into broader industry discussions at the annual SARA Rail Conference and Exhibition in Johannesburg the following week, where key insights from the regional engagement will be shared with railway operators, regulators, policymakers and other industry stakeholders.
Through collaboration, the RSR and PRASA reaffirm their commitment to working with regional partners to strengthen railway safety, promote knowledge-sharing and support a more integrated, interoperable and sustainable railway sector across South Africa and the SADC region.
