GAUTRAIN

'Gautrain' is a proposed 80-kilometre Mass Rapid Transit railway system in Gauteng Province, South Africa that will ultimately link Johannesburg, Pretoria (Tshwane metropolitan area), and OR Tambo International Airport. It is hoped that this railway will relieve the traffic congestion in the Johannesburg – Pretoria traffic corridor as well as offer commuters a viable alternative to road transport, as Johannesburg has a limited public transport infrastructure.

Contents

Location

Gauteng's Gautrain

Technology

Construction

Criticism

Ridership

Alternative transportation projects

Environmental issues

Cost

Cost Time Line

See also

External links

References

Location

Ten suburbs have been identified as potential station locations:

★ Johannesburg Park Station - (underground station)

★ Rosebank - (underground station)

★ Sandton - (underground station)

★ Marlboro - (station at grade)

★ Midrand - (station at grade)

★ Centurion - (station on structure)

★ Pretoria - (station at grade)

★ Hatfield - (station at grade)

★ Rhodesfield - (station on structure)

★ OR Tambo International Airport - (station on structure)

Gauteng's Gautrain

The Gauteng Provincial Government formed a partnership with local and international experts in business to build a modern transport network recognised as the biggest public-private-partnership in Africa. Gautrain is also the second biggest PPP project of its kind in the world.
The train is expected to cut the number of cars on the N1 Ben Schoeman highway by 20% and cost about R40 a ticket, with 135,000 passenger trips a day by 2010. Construction commenced in September 2006, with the section between OR Tambo International Airport, Sandton and Midrand completed by 2010, which coincides with South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The second phase will be completed in 54 months (2011). It involves the remainder of the rail network between Sandton and Johannesburg, including the route from Midrand to Hatfield.
The Gauteng Department of Transport obtained environmental authorisation and conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for this purpose. The necessary authorisation was granted on 25 April 2004. On 7 Dec 2005 the cabinet of the South African government gave the go-ahead for the project, expected to cost more than 24 billion Rand.
In February 2006, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel announced the allocation of R7.1bn from the National Fiscus for Gautrain. On 16 February 2006, Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa announced that the Gauteng Province reached commercial close with the Bombela Consortium, the prefered bidder and that negotiations to reach financial close commenced.
Initial works for the Gautrain commenced in May 2006 and construction commenced after the signing of the Concession Agreement between the Gauteng Provincial Government and the Bombela Concession Company on 28 September 2006.
Although construction only started on 28 September 2006, investors, developers, small businesses and entrepreneurs are already rushing to start new ventures such as office blocks, shopping malls, entertainment and residential developments along Gautrain’s network. The demand for land as well as property prices in these areas increased dramatically.
Future projections for business transactions and access to new markets for products, goods and services will be R6 billion as a result of the Gautrain network. Sustainability is key to Gautrain’s success. City rejuvenation is another achievement.
It is estimated that Gautrain will create 93 000 direct, indirect and induced jobs during construction. More than 3 000 jobs per year will be created during operation.
Gautrain further achieves important objectives described in Gauteng’s Growth and Development Strategy. It includes the requirements for Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment in terms of broadening ownership and control; skills transfer and preferential procurement. Emphasis is also placed on the empowerment of women, youth and people living with disabilities.
The rail network will be 80 kilometres in total. Gautrain is also connected to other forms of public transport like taxi’s, busses and the current Metrorail public train system. Using one integrated public transport ticket, commuters can change services between Metrorail train and Gautrain. Alternatively, commuters can make use of 135 luxury Gautrain busses that provides transport to destinations within a 15 kilometre radius.
Gautrain consists of 24 trains. Each train is made up with four cars linked together. Travelling at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour, it will only take 42 minutes to travel between Johannesburg and Tshwane. From Sandton to the OR Tambo International Airport it will only take 12 minutes. Commuters on this route can check in their luggage at the Sandton Station before arriving at OR Tambo International Airport.
Passengers are assured that their journey will be safe while travelling on the train and when arriving at the stations. There will be security cameras and security guards on patrol in the stations and the parking areas. Only passengers who have an electronic ticket will have access to Gautrain’s stations and the parking areas. Motorists can travel to the stations and leave their cars at the safe parking bays that are being built at the stations.
At the moment, there are merely guidelines of the expected ticket prices. The cost for travelling on the Johannesburg/Tshwane route will be between R10 and R25, depending on distance. The cost of travelling to a station with the Gautrain Bus Link will be between R3 and R7,50. Parking at the station could cost around R6 a day.

Technology

While existing railways in South Africa use the narrow Cape gauge of 1067mm(3ft6in), Gautrain will be built to standard gauge (1435mm or 4ft8.5in). According to Gautrain ^[1], standard gauge "is safer and more comfortable for speeds of 130 km/h and higher, and will allow for more cost-effective procurement of rolling stock". Trains are expected to travel at up to 160 km/h.
Bombardier Transportation's Electrostar, a model of train common in south-east England, has been selected for the system. The trains will be assembled by Union Carriage Works (UCW) Partnership in South Africa from components made in Britain. ^[2]

Construction

Construction of the rail system will be undertaken by Bombela Consortium who have been awarded the contract.^[3] Bombela Consortium is a partnership between Bombardier Transportation, Bouygues Travaux Publics, Murray & Roberts, the Strategic Partners Group and RATP Développement. It is 50 percent owned by its international partners and 50 percent by Murray & Roberts and the Strategic Partners Group, the consortium's black economic empowerment component.

Criticism

Much of the criticism around Gautrain is the concern that money is being spent on the rich at the expense of the poor.^[4] However, the train was never meant to be an alternative to mass public transport - it was to reduce pressure of Johannesburg's overloaded highway system. Figures released by the Gauteng provincial government in 2003 indicate that the project will do little to relieve traffic on the over-used Ben Schoeman Highway (one of the major motivations for the project), as traffic volumes will be higher when the Gautrain is completed and operating at full capacity in 2010. ^[5] Leftist political groupings like the SACP and labour movements like COSATU have branded the Gautrain as a ''train for the rich'' and called on government not to proceed with the project. A national parliamentary oversight body (the Transport Portfolio Committee) held public hearings in November 2005 and subsequently advised Cabinet to scrap or postpone the project. However, National Cabinet decided on 7 December 2005 to financially support the Gautran Project. Evidence is emerging that Government support for the project primarily stems from its efforts to raise infrastructural spending to sustain economic growth and that a dearth of appropriate projects forced it to support this flawed project.

Ridership

Critics have questioned the ridership estimates on which the project is based, stating that government officials almost always overestimate ridership to gain political approval for projects, and citing numerous international examples where similar projects operate at massive loss or were aborted.
The Gauteng provincial government guarantees ridership to the concessionaire who must build and operate the train. If predicted ridership levels do not materialise, taxpayers will by agreement pay an unspecified annual compensation to the concessionaire.

Alternative transportation projects

Critics point out that the project will use the majority of available national and provincial transport funds in a context where massive amounts are needed to deal with widespread traffic congestion and commuter transport problems nationally and in the province. In addition, the existing railway system in the province (currently under national, not provincial, jurisdiction) that serves the majority of the population, is severely underfunded and large scale and violent public unrest, caused by inadequate and old public rail transport systems, has manifested in the province. Critics pointed out that alternative options like rapid bus transit systems can achieve similar levels of service at a fraction of the costs.^[6] These matters were never submitted to a public debate as the project was designed and launched within the confines of the Gauteng Government bureaucracy.

Environmental issues

The environmental benefits of the project are also disputed and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project has revealed that Gautrain will at best be environmentally neutral. South Africa uses dirty coal-based electricity generation and the electricity required for Gautrain will come from outside the Gauteng region. The pollution associated with the generation of this electricity will therefore effectively be exported to the Mpumalanga region, an area already under severe strain from air pollution.
In November 2005 communities in Johannesburg (Dunkeld community) decided to contest the alignment in their suburb. Legal action launched by the Muckleneuk/Lukasrand Property Owners and Residents Association (MLPORA) in 2004 (Case No. 28192/04), together with an urgent application launched by MLPORA in 2006, goes before the High Court of South Africa on 1 August 2006. MLPORA ''inter alia'' opposes the original environmental authorisation granted and the legality of the procedures being followed to approve variant alignments proposed by Bombela. In Pretoria the Gautrain skirts the inner city and cuts through the city's second oldest suburb (Muckleneuk) and high density residential areas and the middle of the city's educational precinct on its way to Hatfield. The alignment as proposed will result in the prevention of the future development of the cities education precinct an urban district with the potential to become a space of national significance. Legal action has also been brought by AECI in January 2006 which has not yet gone before court. Approximately 10% of the route traverses AECI owned land. A dispute with the Centurion Association for a Reasonable Environment (WeCARE) has been settled in favour of WeCARE in March 2006. Further legal challenges are expected.
Critics also question the stated growth and job creation benefits that the project will bring. The EIA for the project determined that it is a poorly performing public sector investment project. In addition the project sponsors have been completely silent on the social benefits that could be gained from alternative public sector investment programmes.
On 29 January 2006 the draft environmental reports on possible variant routes for the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link were released for public comment, without prior warning, and the public were given thirty days to comment on them. The variant alignment proposals are primarily cost-cutting measures proposed by the concessionaire for the project, Bombela. Acceptance of these proposals will lower overall project costs and raise their profits. The released draft EIA reports were compiled by experts without public participation and are being fast tracked through the system by the Gauteng Government. Environmental management plans (EMPs) have already been compiled for these route variants. In law EMPs are meant to mitigate environmental impacts identified in consultation with affected parties. The decision to approve the released EIAs and EMPs vests with the sphere of government that is bringing the project application, namely the Gauteng Government. The process followed raises serious questions regarding the audi alteram principle and the protection of the environmental rights of the public. The thirty-day window is, critics believe, not enough time to make a comprehensive response to the highly technical draft environmental reports.
The proposed route variants are in Hatfield, Centurion, Salvokop, Marlboro and Sandton.

Cost

The project is the largest and costliest transport infrastructure project ever proposed by the provincial government but was surprisingly never discussed in the Provincial Legislature or submitted to any significant public debate before it was approved and put out on tender. Initial cost estimates for the project came in at some R3.5 - 4 billion in 2000 when the project was announced by Premier Shilowa. This figure was revised upwards to R 7 billion for the purposes of the EIA process in 2003 and was finally revealed as being R20 billion (3.7 billion dollars) in 2005, after the successful bidder for the project was announced and a contract came into existence.^[7] National and provincial government will contribute 20 billion rands in equal proportions) and a private sector concessionaire (Bombela) will contribute the balance of direct project costs. Loan funding will constitute a large part of these amounts but the financing costs involved have not been stated. The sunk costs for the project will be more than 20 billion rands.

Cost Time Line

★ 2002 R3.5 - 4 billion initial cost estimate

★ 2003 R7 billion revised cost estimates

★ 2005 R20 billion revised cost estimate

See also

★ List of rapid transit systems

External links

★ Gautrain Corporate Site

★ Gautrain Environmental Impact Assessment

★ Gautrain Variant EIA investigations 2005/6

★ Gautrain Googled Timeline

References

1. Look & Feel
2.
3. Gauteng's bullet train on track Davie Lucille
4. No reversing Gautrain Jacobson Celean
5. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Transport on the Public Hearings on the Proposed Gautrain Project
6. Mass-Transit Alternative for Gauteng Wright Lloyd
7. Shilowa's R20bn silence Cox Anna