SA must plan beyond Gautrain

Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) chief executive Williams Dachs makes a strong point when he insists we have to explore all alternatives if we are to cope with the demands a growing population exerts on our transport system.

Dachs this week had to field some difficult questions during a stakeholder engagement session, regarding the proposed phase 1 extension of the Gautrain – which includes a new line from the West Rand and another from Lanseria Airport through Randburg.

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Many residents are concerned about property expropriation, while others have labelled fares as unaffordable for most.

While not ignoring those concerns, the reality is something has to give – especially when you take into consideration the Gauteng’s population forecast.

Dachs points out that Gauteng’s population is forecast to grow to 16.8 million by 2025, and to 19.1 million in 2037. That’s from roughly 13 million back in 2014.

“The morning peak hour ‘person trips’ for all Gauteng transport modes is forecast to increase to 2.7 million in 2025 and 3.2 million by 2037, from two million in 2014,” he said.

“If we try to move [all these] people on the road, it won’t work. You can’t take an additional 1.2 million peak trips in Gauteng and put them all on roads.”

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He added: “The problem we have in Gauteng is that our rail network is up to 100 years old. We are in essence building cities and urban form where there is no new rail network to move people to and from work.

“If we look forward 20 years and we are not investing in something other than road transport, our urban form will grind to a halt. We are not for a moment saying that roads must not be built, but we are saying they are not going to be enough.”

Yes, many will argue the Gautrain is only for those with money.

But the Gautrain’s argument for expansion is a good one – and any new alternative is a step in the right direction.

Now, if this could only spill over to our entire transport system.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) needs to get our trains and routes up and running to further alleviate congestion on our roads and help the public get from A to B in a more cost-effective way.

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