Numerous objections and questions were raised about the Gautrain route extension during the latest meeting in Sandton on August 16, and most could not be answered at this stage.
The proposed route especially goes through Ward 101 (Sharonlea, North Riding and Olivedale) but also through Bryanston, Ferndale, Randburg CBD and Bordeaux, among other Randburg suburbs.
This route extension will be above ground mostly (apart from the underground area of network at Randburg CBD and route under Hurlingham) and should the proposal become reality, residential homes, schools, shopping centres, churches and roads will be affected.
Because the process is at phase one of four, officials at the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) could not confirm at this time if – or which – houses and land will need to be expropriated with compensation.
The meeting was held by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport’s portfolio committee and featured the GMA, stakeholders and community groups.
Expropriation and consultation
“We will look to remain within the corridor we have specified [on the map given] but we may move it following further engagements and the decision of the MEC [of Transport],” said agency CEO William Dachs.
This follows questions by Greater Sharonlea Residents Forum chairperson JC Wouters and Sharonlea Action Group chairperson Nicolette Joubert.
One of the first matters of dispute arose when GMA’s acting senior executive manager of enterprises Victor Shange said about 100 community members had emailed the organisation and everyone had been responded to.
The community groups, when it was their chance to raise questions, said dozens of residents had written to GMA without reply.
Shange then back-tracked, saying perhaps there was a delay in response because they were very busy and residents were asking complex questions that required time to answer.
Acting executive manager for reputation Tlago Ramalepa said a great deal of public engagement had been done, compared to similar projects, and more meetings would be held.
These include a meeting with ward councillors on August 22 and a ‘hybrid’ meeting with communities in Craighall, Hurlingham and North Riding afterwards.
Ticket prices
As it is, the Gautrain is too expensive for the average South African and it is extremely underused.
This sentiment was echoed by several MPLs and community groups at the meeting. “At the moment only the upper class is using it. I only use it once in a blue moon, maybe once a year when there are no alternatives, because I cannot afford it,” said Joubert.
An MPL from the EFF, Njakazana Radebe, questioned the cost of the project in the current economic environment. “Who is going to pay for this and how much?” she asked.
“Is it really sustainable because we see the Gautrain barely used as it is. There are other expansions to our transport infrastructure we can use the money on instead.”
Chairperson of the committee and ANC MPL Gregory Schneemann also questioned the viability of the Gautrain as a mode of public transport.
“You can see the highway running next to the Gautrain has gridlock traffic, so you have to ask why people are choosing that instead of the Gautrain,” he said.
“And is the Gautrain helping the traffic situation as much as it set out to do? How sure are we that locals will use it because they cannot afford it now? In the UK the underground is popular and works well because it is cheap.”
Route and location
DA MPL Frederick Nel suggested a ‘larger’ approach is needed to fight the traffic problem, saying by the 2030s our roads could see total gridlock.
Ward 101 councillor Ralf Bittkau and EFF MPL Malasela Ledwaba (who spoke out more against the project than anyone else present) agreed that the route should be questioned.
The route should go through Soweto, where rapid public transport is needed most, and perhaps form a ring around Gauteng’s industrial hubs and be connected to other public transport networks, they said.
“The Gautrain cannot be called public transport because it is too expensive. If I were the MEC, I would see it as the fruitless project it is and can it,” Ledwaba said.
“Monorail is still [a better] option. Developing countries do not use expensive rapid rail and we need to consider the users. People who used Prasa before are not using Gautrain now because it is too expensive.”
Bittkau, however, argued that if the route went to a station in Soweto and more people used the Gautrain, tickets could be made cheaper.
He also asked if a tunnel was dug underground for the route so residents would not have to be compensated for the expropriation of their homes, if that would not cover the additional costs of digging the tunnel.
To this, Dachs responded it would still be more expensive to go underground.
On behalf of Sharonlea residents, Wouters concluded he was appreciative of the portfolio committee including residents in the meeting and he hoped they could continue working with the GMA to ensure the rail route infrastructure improvements are made without it being at the expense of the community.
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