Mov in g Matters
Gautrain Expansion
T
he Gautrain Management Agency has announced that it has
issued requests for proposals covering the preliminary design
of four possible expansion routes. These include the extension
of the current Park Station-Hatfield line southwards to Westgate, a
link from Rhodesfield, on the Sandton-OR Tambo line to Boksburg,
and a line from Naledi in Soweto, to Mamelodi, east of Pretoria, by
way of two new links passing either through the existing Midrand
Station, or a proposed new station to be situated at Samrand.
The one element of the Gautrain operation that continues to
pose questions is its bus operations. Current ridership on
the 125-unit fleet is reported to peak at 24 000 passengers
per day, equal to an average of less than 200 passengers
per bus. This equates to around four full loads per day, but
the frequency of near-empty buses that are seen regularly
running at off-peak times suggests that the majority of
passengers travel during the morning and evening rush
periods. However, failure to provide a convenient feeder
In a country where public passenger land transport is often criticised service with short headways would surely have a negative
as being unreliable, unpleasant or even downright dangerous, the
impact on train patronage, and encourage an undesirable
Gautrain system presents as a pleasant contradiction, providing
return to private car usage.
a First-World standard of service to those living or working close
enough to its presently limited network. This is reflected in ridership, The fact that Gautrain has to run its own buses is a
reflection on the generally dysfunctional nature of public
which has recently been reported at some 62 500 train passengers
passenger transport in Gauteng. Most Gautrain passengers
daily, and reports of crowded trains and inadequate parking at
some stations. The potential to increase capacity is currently limited would presumably not choose to use minibus taxis, which
occupy space at the opposite extreme of the acceptable
by sections of dual-directional single track on the Sandton-Park
quality and safety spectrum. Some interaction with
underground leg, but some relief is still possible through doubling
Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya system is encouraged by the
F