Vehicle Ploughs Into Train at Crossing in Phillipi, Western Cape

• A driver was lucky to escape with his life after his vehicle collided with a train on the Cape Flats
• The incident happened at the Phillipi Station when the owner of the car crossed the railroad despite the train's driver sounding the warning horn
• He escaped unharmed, and some South Africans commenting on the accident roasted the vehicle driver

For seven years, Tebogo Mokwena, a journalist at Briefly News in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered a range of topics, including accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature, weather, and natural disaster-related incidents, at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

PHILLIPI, CAPE FLATS — A motorist from Phillipi in the Cape Flats narrowly survived a collision with a train at a level crossing at the Phillippi Train Station on 18 June 2025.

Train collides with a vehicle

According to SABC News, the incident happened when the driver approached the level crossing while a train was travelling in his direction. The train driver saw him and sounded the warning horn.

The driver did not heed the warning horn and continued driving towards the crossing. He collided with the train. Fortunately, the driver was not injured. The Metrorail spokesperson, Zino Mihi, warned motorists to be careful when crossing at level crossings.

Mihi said that trains appear to be moving slowly when observed at a distance. A motorist may miscalculate their speed and attempt to cross. He added that trains move very fast and cannot make sudden stops. Mihi urged pedestrians and motorists to be cautious when approaching a level crossing.

Accidents involving trains in South Africa

• Two coal freight trains collided near Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal in January 2024, and nobody was severely injured during the accident
• Six children were killed when a school transport bus collided with a train near Middelburg in Mpumalanga on 31 July 2024, when the bus tried to cross the railway line while the train was close
• The Mpumalanga government financed the funerals of the six learners who were killed in the accident between a bus and a train in Middelburg
• South Africans were concerned when 35 people were injured after a train traveling to the Dal Josafat Station in Paarl, Western Cape, derailed; fortunately, no fatalities were recorded
• A luxury train carrying passengers from South Africa to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe collided with a locomotive in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on 18 April 2025

South Africans weighed in

Netizens commenting on the accident shared their views.

Thabo Mosotho Mosia said:

"Only trains can use railways, so it can't collide with anything unless it is another train. So in short, it's the vehicle's fault."

Talent Mpofu said:

"Let's hope the driver of the car and the train are not injured."

Patrix Leonardo joked:

"The train is wrong. Why didn't it fly?"

Emmanuel Gcabashe said:

"The car driver is probably a vigilante."

1 killed after vehicle lands on train tracks

In a related article, Briefly News reported that one person was killed when a vehicle plunged off a bridge and crashed onto the train tracks in Shakaskraal, KwaZulu-Natal, on 1 December 2025.

Six people were injured in the accident, which happened between the N2 and R102. The vehicle went over the bridge and fell 50 metres onto the tracks underneath it.

Source: Briefly News