Rail

The Gautrain system officially features three lines in operation. In practice, two of the three line actually represent the same infrastructure and vehicles: on the East/West line, while travelling in the direction of O. R. Tambo International Airport, the commuter and airport passenger flows are separated in different cars. At Rhodesfield station, doors of airport labelled cars are not opening, while doors of commuter cars are not accessible at the airport station.

Bus

The Gautrain system features an extensive network of feeder buses. Some routes are served but regular full-sized buses while others are served by so-called midibuses which are van-like vehicles. There are a total of 6 routes serving Centurion station, 4 routes serving Midrand station, 3 routes serving Rhodesfield station, 4 routes serving Sandton station, 5 routes serving Hatfield station, 6 routes serving Marlboro station, 2 routes serving Park station, 2 routes serving Pretoria station, and 4 routes serving Rosebank station.^[2]

Construction

The rail system was built by Bombela Concession Company, a partnership between Bombardier, Bouygues, Murray & Roberts, the Strategic Partners Group and RATP Group, the J&J Group, and Absa Bank.

Initial civil works for the Gautrain started in May 2006 and construction commenced after the signing of the Concession Agreement between the GPG and the Bombela Concession Company on 28 September 2006. The main civil contractor was Murray & Roberts.

The project was constructed simultaneously in two phases. The first phase involved the section between O. R. Tambo International Airport, Sandton and Midrand, and the second was the remainder. The construction of the first phase was scheduled to take 45 months, and the second was for 54 months, with completion in 2010 and 2011.

• Construction
• 
  Viaduct support pilons, Midrand in November 2007
• 
  Viaduct in Spartan in September 2008
• 
  Viaduct at O. R. Tambo International Airport in April 2009
• 
  Construction at Midrand station in May 2010

Opening to passenger traffic

Sandton station in August 2010

The first public passenger trip was made on 3 February 2009 by 150 people on a 3 km (1.9 mi) test track at the depot.

The first part of the System, between Sandton and O. R Tambo International Airport, opened to the public on 8 June 2010, in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The route from Rosebank to Pretoria and Hatfield commenced operations on 2 August 2011, while the remaining section from Rosebank south to Johannesburg Park Station opened on 7 June 2012, due to higher than anticipated underground water ingress into the railway tunnel.

For the first time since its opening to the public in 2010, the Gautrain system had been put to a halt since 27 March 2020 as part of the lockdown measures taken by the South African government during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4] Passenger services started to progressively resume on 4 May 2020.^[5]

Network

The rail network is 80 kilometres (50 miles) long and is connected to other forms of public transport like taxis, buses and the Metrorail public train system. Commuters can also use several Gautrain buses and midibuses to destinations within a 15-kilometre (9.3-mile) radius.

Fares on the Johannesburg/Pretoria route vary according to the peak, shoulder peak and off-peak times, depending on the distance. The fare on the Gautrain Bus Link for a rail user varies from R9 during peak and R2 during off-peak times; for the midibuses, the fare is a standard R10 per trip. The method of payment on Gautrain buses uses the same personalized electronic ticket as for train travel, requiring a minimum balance of R20.00 for boarding a bus. To board the midibuses, tickets are bought at the midibus counter at the station. Special discounts apply on the purchase of weekly and monthly passes as well as the use of the train during off-peak periods. Tickets can only be purchased at stations and selected retail outlets and not on any bus. Commuters can now use contactless bank cards to tag in and out of the Gautrain Stations.

Tracks

Gautrain tracks in Midrand

Although the national railway network in South Africa uses the 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), Gautrain is built with the more expensive international standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge. According to the Gautrain planning and implementation study, this is done for several reasons, including that a broader gauge is safer and more comfortable for passengers. The rolling stock is also easier, quicker and less expensive to obtain than Cape gauge rolling stock, and is also less expensive to maintain, as it is more tolerant of track imperfections than Cape Gauge. The 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) allows for travel at Gautrain's required speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). The overhead line voltage is 25 kV 50 Hz AC as is standard in many countries.

Although increased flexibility could be obtained by keeping the system interoperable with the South African railway system, a strong case exists for keeping Gautrain separate from the existing network. According to the Gautrain planning and implementation study, an interoperable network may impact service delivery, increase the operating cost and tarnish Gautrain's image.

Stations

Security cameras are operational and security guards patrol all the stations and parking areas. Only passengers who have an electronic ticket 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 next to the train stations. Parking at the stations costs R24 a day for a rail user, however, if a passenger does not remove their vehicle within an hour after arriving at the station, they will be charged R100. Car rental offices are also planned at the stations.

Ten stations are in operation:

• Hatfield (at grade)
• Pretoria (at grade)
• Centurion (elevated)
• Midrand (at grade)
• Marlboro (at grade)
• Sandton (underground)
• Rosebank (underground)
• Park Station (underground)
• Rhodesfield (elevated)
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (elevated)

Various South African and international engineering disciplines and engineering firms collaborated in the design of the system as a whole. Midrand, Centurion and Pretoria stations was designed by Terry Farrell of England. Each platform is 160 metres in length. Marlboro, Rhodesfield and OR Tambo International Airport Station's internal fit-out and platform envelope were designed by Jaco Groenewald and GAJV team. The OR Tambo International Airport Station envelope was designed by Izi Martinez during the OR Tambo International Airport upgrade. Rosebank and Johannesburg Park stations were designed by Atkins – Urban Edge architects joint venture.

Ticketing

A cash-free ticketing system and the use of reloadable smart cards, the Gautrain Card makes travelling on the Gautrain quick and convenient. Passengers can buy their Gautrain Cards at any Gautrain Station as well as approved service outlets. Europay, Mastercard and Visa contactless cards are also usable on Gautrain.

Rolling stock

A Bombardier Electrostar at the depot

The Bombardier Electrostar, a model of a train common in South East England, was selected for the system.^[9] Fifteen cars were manufactured and assembled by Bombardier's Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England, with the remaining cars assembled by the Union Carriage & Wagon in South Africa using structural components made in England.^[10] Gautrain has 24 trains, each made up of four cars: 19 trains service the commuter network and five the airport link; the latter consists of forward rail cars especially adapted for the airport link;^[11] with storage area for luggage and more luxurious seating.^[12]

On 8 July 2008, the first train was handed over to the Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa in a ceremony in Derby. The last was delivered in December 2010.^[13]

There were plans for the acquisition of additional trains. In 2019, Gautrain investigated purchasing some second-hand Electrostars from England.^[14] The project entailed the development of new depot facilities and the upgrading of the existing Gautrain signaling system. The additional train project was expected to have a significant and positive socio-economic impact in the Province as the Gauteng Provincial Government said it would insist on at least 65 percent local content by the successful bidder. The plans were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have not been revived since then.

Ridership

Critics have questioned ridership estimates, stating that government officials almost always overestimate ridership to gain political approval for projects, and cite numerous international examples where similar projects operate at massive losses or were aborted. However, by October 2010, passenger numbers were in line with previous predictions and growing.^[17] Within 100 days of opening the first phase of the system for the public, 1 million passengers were recorded.^[18] As of February 2013, passenger volume was around 40,000 per day by train and 12,000 by bus. This is lower than expected in terms of passenger numbers, but this is partially offset by a longer average trip length (50 km vs the expected 30 km). Peak volumes are higher than expected, though, which can be addressed by adding more coaches during peak times, and reducing the headway between trains from 12 to 10 minutes ahead of the intended 2015 schedule. Tolling on Gauteng highways is also expected to lead to higher passenger numbers.^[19]

Alternative transportation projects

Critics pointed out that the project would use the majority of available national and provincial transport funds in a context where massive amounts were needed to deal with widespread traffic congestion and commuter transport problems nationally and in the province. The existing railway system in the province, under national rather than provincial control, which serves the majority of the population, was severely underfunded and large-scale and violent public unrest caused by inadequate and old trains had manifested in the province. Critics alleged that options like rapid bus transit could achieve similar levels of service at a fraction of the costs, however, the estimated 62,000 daily riders require a capacity unfeasible by BRT.^[20] These matters were never submitted to a public debate as the project was designed and launched within the confines of the Gauteng Government bureaucracy.

Cost

The project is the largest and costliest transport infrastructure project ever proposed by the provincial government but was never discussed in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature or submitted to any significant public debate before it was approved and put out to tender. Initial cost estimates came in at some R3.5 – 4 billion in 2000 when the project was announced by Premier Shilowa. This figure was revised upwards to R7 billion for the EIA process in 2003 and was finally revealed as being R20 billion (US$3.7 billion) in 2005 after the successful bidder for the project was announced and a contract came into existence.^[21] National and provincial governments will contribute R20 billion in equal proportions and 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 R20 billion. In March 2008, Jeremy Cronin, chairman of the National Assembly's transport portfolio committee and deputy secretary-general of the SACP, complained that the cost had quietly crept up to R35 billion.^[22] Cronin has long opposed the project and told the SA Parliament's lower house during a budget debate that his information was that the project's cost was escalating "quietly and below the radar screen", though MPs "were told, hand on heart, here in Parliament just a few years ago, what the written-in-stone absolute upper limit was [R20 billion]". The Gautrain management agency CEO, Jack van der Merwe, has subsequently denied this, stating that the project is a fixed-price, fixed-scope and fixed-period contract and that the price will only increase if the consumer price index increases above the South African Reserve Bank's prediction, if the Gauteng Province were in breach of contract, or if the project's scope were to change.^[23]