Rail Commuters Action Group and Others v Transnet Ltd t/a Metrorail and Others

The applicants included a rail commuters’ association and several individuals who were victims, or relatives of victims, of violent crimes committed on Metrorail commuter trains in the Western Cape, including assaults and murders. They alleged systemic failures in safety and security on commuter rail services. The respondents were Transnet Ltd trading as Metrorail, the South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC), the Minister of Transport, and the Minister of Safety and Security. The applicants sought extensive declaratory, mandatory, and interdictory relief, alleging breaches of statutory duties under the Legal Succession to the South African Transport Services Act 9 of 1989 (SATS Act), constitutional rights (including the rights to life, dignity, freedom of movement, and freedom from violence), delictual duties, and contractual obligations. The High Court granted substantial relief against Metrorail, SARCC, and the Minister of Transport. Leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court was sought.

Leave to appeal was granted but the appeal was substantially dismissed. The Constitutional Court largely upheld the declaratory and mandatory relief granted by the High Court against Metrorail, the SARCC, and the Minister of Transport, and confirmed that no relief was to be granted against the Minister of Safety and Security.

This is a landmark South African case on the constitutionalisation of public transport safety. It established that state-owned transport operators have a constitutionally informed legal duty to take reasonable steps to protect passengers from violent crime. The case is significant for developing the common law of delict in line with section 39(2) of the Constitution and for clarifying accountability in complex public-sector service delivery arrangements.