Johannesburg - The Gautrain service in Johannesburg was restored shortly before midday on Wednesday after it had earlier broken down between Park Station and Sandton, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and having to use alternative transport.
Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager issued a statement shortly before noon to say: “ We are pleased to advise that the train service between Sandton and Park Station is now fully operational. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank our passengers for their understanding & support.”
The service had earlier ground to a halt due to a “technical difficulty”. Gautrain management had released a statement saying the first train to depart from OR Tambo International Airport had been delayed by an hour due to technical difficulty, and that train services between Sandton and Park stations were temporarily disrupted. Some passengers had to face the grim possibility of missing their flights as services from Park Station and Pretoria to OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa's busiest airport, were delayed.
A second statement from Gautrain said they were attending to the technical difficulty that was caused by “a train that failed in the Sandton vicinity”. Gautrain then appealed to passengers travelling between Sandton, Rosebank and Park stations to make alternate transport arrangements.
Gautrain buses replaced some train services although passengers travelling between Sandton and Park stations were advised to make their own alternate arrangements. This left some passengers feeling like second class citizens, extra painful on a day when fares had increased on all routes.
About 60 000 commuters use the train every day, with the OR Tambo International Airport being the busiest route.
Commuters express frustration
Frustrated commuters queuing for buses outside stations tweeted their displeasure at the double whammy of fare increases which kicked off on Wednesday and travel disruptions. Lihle Shube said: “Increase in prices and train delays on same day. Apologise for the inconvenience! Irritated.” Thulani Ndaba said: “No trains from Park station to Rosebank and Sandton. This is really frustrating. Now we have to wait in long lines for the bus.”
Other Twitter users were less flustered. “Rail disruptions are frequent with Metro Rail but just one day of #Gautrain disruptions is considered a calamity,” said Pada Moto. Incorrigible Victor said: “Metrorail always has hour delays but no one pays attention to the civilians. Shrug off woes of the little man.”
Traffic specialist Rob Byrne tweeted that the delays to the Gautrain service had caused Uber taxi prices, which fluctuate according to demand, to increase three times. On Tuesday, the Bombela Concession Company (BCC), operator of the Gautrain, won a R624 million arbitration bid against the provincial government in relation to cost overruns for the construction of the Sandton Gautrain station cavern.
The Gauteng provincial government has launched a high court application to review the amount awarded. Earlier this year, Gautrain management confirmed that they would be extending their rail routes by 200km and would be adding 48 new coaches to the system, giving it 12-train sets of four-cars each.
African News Agency (ANA)