A coalition of civil society groups is pushing fir the agency in charge of rail transport in South Africa to reintroduce a chaperone service for children and separate carriages for female passengers, GroundUp news site reports.

The group, under the #UniteBehind banner, said in a statement that “women commuters face specific threats to their safety. This must be considered and prioritised by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa)”.

It said that a chaperone carriage would provide children with a safe space where they would be accompanied by volunteers cleared by Prasa.

The group said that they had met with senior management at Prasa and were promised that “a number of crucial undertakings”‚ which included the reintroduction of chaperoned carriages for children.

Prasa spokesperson Nana Zenani said #UniteBehind’s request for special carriages forms part of “ongoing discussions and nothing further”.

GroundUp reports that it was unable to determine why this service was discontinued years ago.