Photo by: Duane Daws
The Gauteng government would make an announcement on the possible expansion of the province’s rapid rail system by the end of June, said Gautrain Management Agency CEO Jack van der Merwe on Thursday.
Speaking to Engineering News Online on the sidelines of the Transport Forum conference in Johannesburg, he noted that the feasibility study, which was investigating the viability of expanding the Gautrain network, was “in the process of wrapping up”.
The study looked at “16, 17 stations and 180 km of rail network”, noted Van der Merwe.
“It also considered whether the project can be broken up into three or four phases.”
Van der Merwe said the expansion project had been registered with government as a public-private partnership.
The Gautrain Rapid Rail Link project formed part of the Gauteng government’s 25-year Integrated Transport Master Plan.
Van der Merwe said any expansion of the system would, in all probability, feature new operators and rolling stock.
Bombela was the operator of the current Gautrain system.
In addressing the Transport Forum, Van der Merwe said public transport was only truly profitable in a holistic sense, when considering its benefits, such as reducing the number of cars on the road and, subsequently, the amount of carbon emissions being pumped into the air and the efficiency with which cities operated.
“When considering only rands and cents, it is not profitable.”
Van der Merwe said the success of public transport systems should be measured by their efficiency and effectiveness.
“The emphasis should be on minimising costs, not eliminating costs.”