At the end of March, 56% of the Gautrain’s 150 km of track had been laid.

On the mainline sections, trackwork is complete from Sandton station to the OR Tambo International Airport station on the east–west line, and from Marlboro to Dale road, in Midrand, on the north–south line. All these lines are energised and operational.

Track-laying work from Sandton station towards the Johannesburg Park station has started. Also, track laying from Dale road towards Pretoria started late last year and, by the end of March, track-laying operations had progressed to the vicinity of the Samrand road bridge to the north of Midrand station.

The Gautrain is already being tested on the airport link between Sandton and OR Tambo Inter- national Airport.

Stations on this route are nearing completion, with ticket vending machines and access gates already installed at some stations.

In Pretoria, work on stations is also making good progress, with the façade of Centurion station taking shape. Deck construction of the viaduct running over the John Vorster interchange, in Centurion, was completed in March.

Here is a visual update of the R25,4-billion rail project which will ultimately link Pretoria, Johan- nesburg and OR Tambo Inter- national Airport by mid-2011.

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