MARIENTAL – Passengers, including tourists, on board a Keetmanshoop-bound train of TransNamib escaped a potentially serious accident on Saturday when a mixed train of the national carrier had to be halted at Mariental due to brake failure.
Mariental Station Master, Theodor Witbooi, confirmed the incident, but emphasized that nobody’s life was in danger at the time when the locomotives were brought to a standstill at the station. Witbooi said TransNamib organised alternative transportation for the more than 70 passengers to Windhoek by providing a bus to minimise discomfort for the passengers, especially the tourists, who boarded the ill-fated train to Keetmanshoop.
He said technicians from Windhoek have already been informed and have promptly removed the locomotive to Windhoek in order to clear the station for normal operations. TransNamib’s Manager for Service Delivery, Gothard !Howaeb, was not aware of the incident when approached for comment over the weekend, but said contingency plans are in place on a regular basis to provide alternative transportation in the event of technical failure of trains in general. “We hold our customers in high esteem and are doing our best to provide a safe and reliable service to our clients. However, due to the age of our fleet, technical failures can occur and nobody can predict them,” he said. It is not the first time that a south-bound train of TransNamib fails to keep its scheduled times, but brake failure is considered a serious problem, especially when trains are Windhoek-bound considering the hilly parts of the trajectory before entering the city from the south.
New Era has learned that one of the few fatal accidents involving a train of the national carrier took place a few years ago near Aris, just a few kilometres outside Windhoek, when a train driver lost his life, also due to apparent brake failure on a locomotive.
By Hoandi !Gaeb