Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi announced the appointment of a consortium of to conduct the feasibility study for the possible rapid rail extensions.
Earlier this year, Vadi said the second phase of the Gautrain extension would be an East West link, which he described as a link between OR Tambo Airport and Lanseria Airport.
At the time, Vadi said the technical work and planning was underway, and depending on the findings and outcomes of the feasibility study, a decision on the future of the extension would be made next year.
“The purpose of the feasibility study is to inform the decision to proceed with the Gautrain extensions and the preferred routes that should be developed,” Vadi said.
The feasibility study should be based on a number of benefits such as the transformational impact on the Gauteng economy, the modernisation of public transport, passenger access and mobility, improved spatial development, environmental impact, and other benefits such as job creation and poverty alleviation, said Vadi.
The study would allow the Gautrain Management Agency to weigh up the benefits against the costs in an informed way, he added.
The proposed extensions to the Gautrain network followed the recently-completed Gauteng 25-Year Integrated Transport Master Plan (ITMP25).
The plan provided a long-term plan to ensure the integration of transport with spatial patterns, and the integration between various transport modes.
According to Vadi, the ITMP25 identified rail as an essential component, and the backbone for an integrated and efficient public transport system in Gauteng.
The appointed consultants, SMEC Consortium, included SMEC South Africa, DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr and Deloitte.
These consultants had proficiencies in public-private partnership procurement processes, rail design and planning, legal and financial planning, and socio-economic impact studies.
Once the feasibility study was completed in the latter part of next year, the funding models would be presented to the Provincial and National Treasuries for budgetary consideration.
