The Prasa task team established to explore alternatives to retrenchments at the rail operator met on Friday to finalise its report, which is due to be handed to transport minister Barbara Creecy on Tuesday.Atenkosi Plaatjie, spokesperson for the United National Transport Union (Untu), the largest union at Prasa, told Business Day that the task team — comprising Prasa management and labour representatives — would not disclose the contents of the report at this stage.“What I can say is the task team is at the finalisation stage of the report. It will be handed over to the minister next week,” she said.Transport department spokesperson Collen Msibi said: “I can confirm that there is a task team led by the department. However, it is currently in the middle of its task, as per its terms of reference. A public pronouncement will be made once the task is completed.“Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda has been approached for comment, which will be added once received.Untu and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), the two largest unions at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), were left incensed after the rail operator announced plans to retrench more than 600 workers, citing “severe financial and operational constraints” in its long-distance passenger rail operations. Business Day has reported that in a document sent to employees Prasa said certain rail corridors had remained inactive for extended periods, leaving employees unable to perform productive work while continuing to receive full remuneration. “After exhausting all reasonable alternatives, retrenchment was adopted as a last resort,” Prasa stated. Business Day understands Shosholoza Meyl has not been operating at full capacity as a result. Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda said there is no update. Prasa was allocated R5.8bn in February as part of the government’s efforts to modernise the rail operator’s fleet and improve commuter rail services. The programme is intended to boost annual passenger trips from the current 77-million to 250-million to 450-million over the medium term. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has said the special appropriation included R1.8bn earmarked for Prasa to help the agency meet its contractual obligations under its agreement with Gibela, which requires the procurement of a minimum of 35 locomotives annually. Untu provisionally withdrew its application to halt the retrenchment process from the labour court roll to give the task team a chance. Labour met Prasa group CEO Hishaam Emeran recently to find a solution to the looming job cuts. Makanda did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Business Day reported recently that labour had rejected moves by Prasa to have the affected employees sign documents issued regarding the retrenchment process. Prasa, which has a track network of more than 2,000km, has historically been plagued by ageing infrastructure, vandalism, unreliability and ineffectiveness, fraud, corruption and safety concerns. The entity launched its general overhaul programme in 2022 at a cost of R7.5bn, of which R3.48bn had been spent by end-March 2025. The overhaul was established to refurbish and extend the service life of Prasa’s legacy rolling stock fleet — the older Metrorail coaches and mainline passenger services locomotives that serve millions of commuters in South Africa’s metropolitan regions.