The Gautrain rapid rail project is planning an additional five new extensions to the railway line in addition to its nine existing links, which connect ten stations from Johannesburg to Pretoria.

The new links are being planned from Park station, in Johannesburg, to Soweto, Rhodesfield station to the east of Johan- nesburg, Samrand to the north-west of Pretoria, Midrand station to the West Rand through Randburg, and Hatfield station to Menlyn.

The completion of an eleventh existing platform, in Modderfontein, has been postponed until property developer Heartlands has completed a residential project in the area.

“As soon as the houses have been built, we will start getting the station ready for the residents of the Heartlands project,” explains Gautrain communications team member Ingrid Jensen.

The construction of the Gautrain is now in month 42, with 12 months remaining before it is completed.

The link between Sandton and OR Tambo International Airport started operation on June 8, 2010. Jensen adds that the six stations, which lie between Johannes- burg Park station and Hatfield station, should be completed by mid-2011.

Having initially been a project started by the Department of Finance and Economic Affiars (DFEA), in 1997, the Gautrain, formerly known as the Spatial Development Initiative Rail Link, was designed to perform as a spatial and economic development plan that would be implemented through transport, she says.

“Gautrain did not start off as a transport project as it was conceptualised by the DFEA. It was also designed to meet government aims, such as black economic empowerment and skills development. Considering that the Gautrain is a provincial government project, its success is based on the development of land, the economy and skills in the province,” adds Jensen.

In 1999, a prefeasibility study was performed, after which a feasibility project was conducted, determining that the project was feasible. The then Gauteng Premier, Mbhazima Shilowa, announced the project in 2000.

“Gauteng was analysed from a development aspect to determine where development should be transformed, increased and initiated. Based on this analysis, eight different routes were to be researched,” says Jensen.

Further, an economic study was performed to determine which of the eight initial routes would bring about the most economic development.

“It was decided that the route between Johannesburg and Pretoria would increase economic development in Gauteng the most. This was as a consequence of the growth in road vehicle traffic congestion in the corridor,” Jensen explains.

She says that Bombela Concession Company won the bid to build and manage the Gautrain as its socioeconomic development promises were the most competitive.

“We did not want international companies to come to South Africa and build a train without transferring skills to local residents. This would have left us dependent on the company when the construction of extensions were required, as we would not have the necessary knowledge to perform the extensions ourselves,” says Jensen.

She explains that, through Bombela’s five years of construction and 15 years of operation, it has monthly socioeconomic aims that it must meet to ensure the transfer of skills and training.

She says that no major problems were expe- rienced during the construction of the Gautrain rapid rail link.

“In concessioning Bombela, we benefited from the company’s experience in the construction of similar projects. However, the main challenge of the project is its size and the time in which it needs to be completed,” she explains.

A specific engineering challenge was construction at the N3 underpass, without interrupting traffic on the N3, notes Jensen. The contractors had to tunnel under the N3 to lay tracks from the Sandton station to OR Tambo International. This resulted in traffic being stopped for five minutes at some stages while blasting took place.

Meanwhile, test runs started in late 2008. Each train is required to travel 3 000 km before it is made available for public use.

“There have not been any glitches,” she says.

Advantages for Commuters

The benefits of the Gautrain for commuters include avoiding stressful and time-consuming traffic, the predictability of the train’s arrival and departure times, physical and psychological comfort, and safety and security.

Jensen says that commuters should rest assured, as there is one railway police officer for every two coaches on the train, as well as a 24-hour security guard presence at all stations and parking areas, continuous satellite tracking of all feeder and distributor buses and secure fencing along the route to prevent unauthorised access and vandalism of critical system assets.

“There are also about 750 closed-circuit television cameras on the entire route. To ensure that the system is technically secure, an operation control centre was established. It is the brain of the system and is able to control the operation of a train should something happen to a driver,” says Jensen.

It is expected that the Gautrain will have a positive effect on the current public transport system. The Gautrain is being integrated with the bus rapid transit sys- tem, which involves buses transporting passengers to and from stations.

About 36 dedicated bus routes, covering 430 km, will be available at the Gautrain stations and will accommodate 125 buses.

“It will improve their service, as well as our service, as it will increase the number of commuters using the Gautrain. I hope tourists travelling to South Africa during the FIFA World Cup get an idea of what South Africa is capable of when they use the Gautrain. The airport link puts us on the same international standard as the New York Air Link or the Heathrow Express, in London.

“I manage all the enquiries that come through on our website daily. In the last month, I received about 12 queries a day. There’s definitely an interest from people who want to use the system,” adds Jensen.