South Africa

New Gautrain routes and expansion coming this week

The Gauteng provincial government has confirmed that work is currently underway to expand the Gautrain rail network, with further details on the new routes and expansions set to be made public this week.

Presenting his departmental budget plans, Gauteng’s Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo said the Gautrain project continues to be a success story for the province, providing a safe and reliable public transport service for its people.

“The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) is currently continuing its plans for successful operations of the Gautrain service post-March 2026 when the current Gautrain concession agreement ends.

“The planning of the proposed Gauteng Rapid Rail Network Extensions (GRRIN) project is also underway. The project has made significant progress and I’m pleased to inform you that Cabinet has endorsed the Preliminary Route Alignment study for Phase 1 of the proposed GRRIN extensions and an official announcement and details will be made in the coming week.”

Mamabolo added that GMA has placed the procurement process that was initiated to enable the acquisition of additional rolling stock and appurtenant depot enhancements on hold until further notice.

“This decision has been implemented with due consideration of the significant impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on mobility and thus passenger demand on the Gautrain. The GMA will continue with the management of the capacity of the Gautrain System to ensure that all necessary interventions required are addressed as part of its future planning,” he said.

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Planned route

The government published its planned phase 1 Gautrain route for public comment in July 2021, with a proposal to carry the route from Marlboro through Sandton, Randburg, Cosmo City and Little Falls.

A broad overview of the route includes:

  • The proposed route starts at the proposed location of the Little Falls Station which is located to the east of Hendrik Potgieter Road in Willowbrook. From the proposed Little Falls Station, the route runs in a northeasterly direction towards Zandspruit where the route will pass to the west of Jackal Creek Golf Estate.
  • The route then changes in a southeasterly direction towards Cosmo City and a newly proposed Cosmo Station. From the Cosmo Station, the route will continue in a southeasterly direction towards the newly proposed Randburg Station, passing through North Riding, Olivedale, Bryanston, and Ferndale.
  • The route will continue in a southeasterly direction through Randburg, Bordeaux, and Hurlingham. Once it has reached Sandhurst the route will change direction towards the existing Sandton Station where an upgraded station is proposed.
  • From Sandton, the route will run in a northeasterly direction through Sandton, Sandown, Marlboro, and Alexandra towards the existing Marlboro Station that will be upgraded to accommodate the new alignment.

Read: New high-speed trains planned for South Africa: minister

Artmotion S.Africa

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