9 July 2009
While it’s not yet clear whether the airport link of South Africa’s Gautrain will be ready in time for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, work on the rapid rail route is steaming ahead.
Floating some 16 metres above the ground is the Rhodesfield Gautrain Station, situated about 200 metres from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.
Why 200 metres from the airport? Rhodesfield caters for residents of Johannesburg’s neighbouring Ekurhuleni metro municipality, who will take the Gautrain to and from Joburg, Midrand and Pretoria.
The train will have two separate coaches for airport commuters, the doors of which will remain closed when it stops at Rhodesfield.
Across at the airport, the station is almost complete, with sparkling tiles, three ticket vending machines, and ticket swipe entrances in place. It is directly linked to the departures level of the new central terminal building.
Local commuters will be able to park in the 1 200 parking bays at the Rhodesfield Station, and will be able to link to the Metro Rail passenger service that runs under it. A new Metro station is being built adjacent to the Gautrain station.
Or commuters can take the feeder buses that will shuttle passengers within a 10km radius of the station, including to and from the Kempton Park CBD. Provision is also being made for bicycle storage and motorcycle parking.
These buses will run every 12 minutes during peak hours, and bus and train schedules will be synchronised. Bus shelters will be placed every 500m in high-density areas.
The station entrance, concourse and parking area will be at ground level, and passengers will take an elevator up to the platform.
Rhodesfield is the largest viaduct or bridge on the Gautrain route, at 1.5-kilometres. It carries the double track line over the R21 and R24 road networks to the airport.
The CEO of the Gautrain Management Agency, Jack van der Merwe, stressed in a briefing last week that it was not yet known whether the Gautrain link between the airport and Sandton would be ready for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. “We will make an announcement in the next three months.”
Timetables
Like the buses, trains will run every 12 minutes during peak hours, while there’ll be a train every 20 minutes in off-peak periods. Over weekends and on public holidays a train will run every 30 minutes. The first train will set off at 5.30am and the last train will depart after 8.30pm.
The ride between Rhodesfield and Sandton, the only station from which commuters will be able to catch the train to the airport, will take 15 minutes. Commuters travelling from other stations to Sandton will have to transfer to the airport coaches, which will have facilities to store luggage.
In time, there will be provision for remote airport check-in facilities at Sandton Station.
Testing the trains
Work is ongoing at 53 sites between Park Station in the Joburg CBD right through to Hatfield Station in Pretoria. Just over 14 kilometres of the route had been completed, said Van der Merwe.
“We are running the trains at 160kph, and have to run each train for 3 000 kilometres before they are ready for use,” he explained.
The assembly plant in Nigel delivers two carriages a week. Tracks have been laid from the Marlboro Station through to Modderfontein. Marlboro Station is taking shape, and by the end of July it will begin to look like the final product.
So far R17.5-billion of a R25.1-billion budget, has been spent. Factors that might affect the eventual budget include inflation, a possible extension to the route, and a claim against the Gautrain builders.
Van der Merwe emphasised that once toll fees, petrol and car depreciation – which would total some R3 500 a month – had been taken into account, it would be “a bargain” to use the Gautrain. Fares for the train will be more expensive than those of taxi and Metro Rail tickets
Commuters will be able to buy smart card electronic tickets, with one ticket working seamlessly for the train, the bus and parking. Tickets will be available at ticket vending machines, where further travel time can be loaded on to the smart card via cash, debit or credit cards.
Security and special needs
The Gautrain will have tight security, with over 650 CCTV cameras in place. Security officers will supplement this vigilance. The 80km network will be securely fenced with a 2.4m high concrete fence, which will be regularly patrolled. Only valid ticket holders will have access to stations.
Passengers with special needs – those in wheelchairs and those with sight or hearing impairments – will be catered for with level boarding between the train and the platform, and a very small gap between the two.
Gautrain buses will have low entrance floors, wide doorways and folding ramps. Ticket vending machines inside stations will be at the height of wheelchair users.
Development around the Rhodesfield Station has been given a boost. The council has received applications for commercial developments, including three hotels, in the area. Construction of the first hotel, close to the station, has begun. Another project is a R600-million mixed-use development alongside the station.
The Ekurhuleni council is also revisiting its local spatial development plan for the precinct, particularly regarding roads. Land uses will also be reviewed.
Source: City of Johannesburg
