He added that there are also longer-term ambitions to extend the system further. \u201cLater, we will want to expand it to Sedibeng in the Vaal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, 16 March, He reiterated<\/a> that some of the first areas expected to benefit from the rollout include Springs, Atteridgeville, and Fourways, as well as other key economic hubs in Gauteng. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lesufi noted that the original public-private partnership that delivered the system is nearing a transition point, with ownership set to shift fully to the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy the end of March this year, this private sector investment will now become due, and all the trains, the stock, the station, the system will be formally handed over to the people of Gauteng,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that the Gautrain, initially built at a cost of around R27 billion, has grown into a R52-billion asset over the past 14 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, despite the ambitious plans, Dr Megan Bruwer from Stellenbosch University\u2019s Department of Civil Engineering, said<\/a> implementation will be complex due to the fragmented nature of South Africa\u2019s transport governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rail is managed nationally through entities such as the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, which operates Metrorail, while buses fall under provincial control, and bus rapid transit systems are run by municipalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got three different levels of government all trying to work together, and then, of course, you\u2019ve got the private service providers as well, which will be a challenge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the question of demand, despite the drop in ridership levels since the Covid-19 pandemic, Bruwer believes the expansion is necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou don\u2019t wait for a system to get to optimal before you expand it. You expand it so that you can get everything to optimal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also said that the Gautrain\u2019s value should not be judged purely on cost. While not the cheapest option, it plays an important role in reducing congestion and improving mobility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Encouraging higher-income commuters to shift from private cars to rail can ease pressure on roads and benefit the broader transport system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A central goal of the expansion is improved integration, particularly with existing rail services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of the extension is to actually link up with existing services and Metrorail lines,\u201d Bruwer said, explaining that the Gautrain\u2019s role as an express service complements commuter rail rather than duplicating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The expansion also aims to extend rail access to underserved communities. \u201cThe Gautrain is going to serve areas which have not been served very extensively by rail,\u201d Bruwer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She added that this will help establish rail as the \u201cbackbone\u201d of Gauteng\u2019s public transport network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite its potential, Bruwer stressed the importance of including all stakeholders\u2014particularly the minibus taxi industry, which accounts for the majority of commuter trips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to talk with everybody who is in the transport space together to ensure collaboration.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has reaffirmed plans to expand the Gautrain network, with several new areas set to receive stations as a result.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":819103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1652,725,19384,18326],"class_list":["post-854141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-gauteng","tag-gautrain","tag-panyaza-lesufi","tag-south-afirca"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854141"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":854181,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854141\/revisions\/854181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Gautrain shouldn’t be judged on its current form <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/gautrain-2-1024x576.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n