Gautrain to open before SWC

[Mike Hoxbig]

Johannesburg - The Gautrain - Africa's first high-speed rail line - will launch on June 8 2010, three days before the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, the developers said on Friday.

French construction giant Bouygues said the train's first segment, linking OR Tambo International Airport and Sandton, will open in time for the June 11 kick-off of Africa's first World Cup.

"(The segment) will be handed over on June 8, three weeks ahead of our original schedule," said Christian Gazaignes, Bouygues' executive director.

When finished in mid-2011, the 80km regional express train will link Pretoria with Johannesburg.

An international consortium that includes Bouygues, Canadian firm Bombardier and two local companies began construction on the 160km/h-maximum rail line in 2006.

The developers have worked "doubly hard" to finish the first section before the World Cup, said Charles-Etienne Perrier, project director for Bouygues.

For R100, World Cup visitors will be able to ride the 15km trip from the airport to the Sandton hotel district in less than 15 minutes.

"It's going to give the country a beautiful image of modernity," said Laurence Leblanc, international director of RATP Dev, a subsidiary of French group RATP, the company awarded a 15-year concession to operate the train.

Transportation officials plan for the R25m Gautrain to form the backbone of a new public transport network that will take traffic off the notoriously congested Johannesburg-Pretoria highway.

lol @ R100 for a one-way trip.

This will fail if ticket prices are anywhere near that after the world cup.

[samuelp]

Its more expensive than in Europe

[boramk]

R100? JEEZ

Oh and I'm at Sandton everyday, if they are going to finish 3 days before world cup, lol, they better hurry up

[Prof.]

Let's wait and see...

[Mercurious]

R100 is a bit steep. Hope that won't be the final price.

[Dean]

Something tells me someones getting a massive bonus for having it finished before the World Cup... I just hope they finish it properly and safely rather than running after that pre-SWC date!

[Gushesh]

I don't think R100 is steep. The cheapest ticket on the Heathrow Express is £16,50 from Heathrow to Paddington.
The last time i checked a taxi cab from Sandton to OR Tambo costs at least R400.

[LancelotSA]

So first it was the threads claiming that it would not be ready in time but now that it is it's threads about the cost of the trip instead.

[Mike Hoxbig]

So first it was the threads claiming that it would not be ready in time but now that it is it's threads about the cost of the trip instead.

I hope it succeeds, I really do. But one of the claims is that it is meant to alleviate congestion on the N1 between Jhb and Pta. I don't see how that will be possible if that will be the final price of a single trip, whereas a week's petrol costs R300-R400. Maybe the price will be route-dependent; who knows, it's all speculative at the moment.

PS: please show me where I complained about anything.

[LancelotSA]

I hope it succeeds, I really do. But one of the claims is that it is meant to alleviate congestion on the N1 between Jhb and Pta. I don't see how that will be possible if that will be the final price of a single trip, whereas a week's petrol costs R300-R400. Maybe the price will be route-dependent; who knows, it's all speculative at the moment.

PS: please show me where I complained about anything.

It was a general comment hence me not specifically quoting you. You only recently joined but since the first mumblings about the Gautrain project we have had people writing it off on here and claiming it would never be ready etc etc.

I actually failed to even note who posted the original message. I am aware that you are not blindly negative about things.

[HavocXphere]

I don't think R100 is steep.

For someone using it to get to & from work thats just over 50k per year. In my books that steep.

The cheapest ticket on the Heathrow Express is £16,50 from Heathrow to Paddington.

If you adjust for differences in purchasing power that number will show the exact opposite of what you are trying to demonstrate.

[LancelotSA]

If you adjust for differences in purchasing power that number will show the exact opposite of what you are trying to demonstrate.

I'm battling to find the 2010 Big Mac index showing local prices but I've found a 2008 one.

Big Mac UK £2.29
Big Mac SA R16.90

So the Gautrain trip is 5.9 Big Macs. The Heathrow Express cheapest ticket is 7.2 Big Macs. And SA has had higher inflation than the UK in the last two years so these old prices actually favour the UK.

http://www.theglobalguru.com/article...&offer=guru001

[manesan]

FTA "For R100, World Cup visitors will be able to ride the 15km trip from the airport to the Sandton hotel district in less than 15 minutes."
This is only from the airport to Sandton during the world cup. The route between Pretoria and JHB will only be opened at a later stage, and we dont know what the costs are. If the prices are not economically viable for commuters the prices will come down as no one will use it.

I live in JHB and these infrastructure upgrades are most welcome by me.

I can guarantee you, most of our whiners on this forum will be crying about other things in a years time about the Guatrain, such as, why are these trains so full, its malemas fault.

[Inertia]

Let's see: R400 for a taxi ride to the airport, or R100 on the Gautrain.

Please explain how this is "steep"

[Drunkard #1]

It's only from the airport to Sandton, from Rhodesfield (about a minute from the airport) to Sandton will cost a LOT less. The airport coaches have bigger seats, more luggage space and are built to compete with the Heathrow Express, the normal coaches are standard "tube grade" coaches.