Warning over Gautrain’s expansion plans

[John Ashworth]

Warning over Gautrain’s expansion plans

The Competition Commission has raised concerns that a ‘two-tier’ rail system between the Gautrain and Metrorail in Gauteng could further deepen inequality in the province. In a report published this week, the commission said that the Gautrain was not intended to compete with Metrorail, but complement it – with the intention behind the system to encourage private motorists to use the train. However, it highlighted some conflict in that the Gautrain was rolled out after Metrorail, and it appears as if the system was not planned with Metrorail in mind. The commission said that while there is not a major duplication of routes between the two services, they do overlap at four stations – Hatfield, Pretoria, Rhodesfield and Park Station. It added that further expansion plans for the Gautrain service could exacerbate this, and solidify a ‘two-tier system’...