Johannesburg - The Gautrain’s management on Monday denied reports that its finances are in crisis and that Joburg’s bullet train could be derailed by the end of the month.
This morning, Beeld newspaper reported that the Gauteng government would have to fork out R700 million by November 21 to maintain the train’s operations.
According to the DA’s roads and transport spokesman Dr Neil Campbell, for the Gautrain to break even, 110 000 passengers had to use the train and its bus systems each day. However, there are currently only about 51 000 passengers making use of the train daily.
DA Shadow Minister of Transport Ian Ollis said that the provincial government gave a guarantee in 2006 that it would take responsibility for any lacking revenue until the Gautrain could sustain itself.
“Government gave a ridership guarantee. The province has to make up the cash flow for the train until it reaches a certain number of passengers,” Ollis said today.
Campbell said government should on November 21 clarify its financial plans for the train, but it was understood that R700 million would be paid to the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) and Bombela, the companies that manage the train, as the ridership guarantee for this year and next.
The full budget set aside for the train, however, sits at more than double this figure, at R1.5 billion.
Campbell said this level of funding was fine when the train was in its early stages of development, but that the roads and transport portfolio committee needed clarity on why such a large amount of money was still required.
But Bombela spokesman Errol Braithwaite said expecting a public service like the Gautrain to turn a profit was both naïve and unrealistic - like expecting sewage processing facilities and hospitals to be profitable.
Across the world, he said, public transport services do not end up sustaining themselves.
According to Braithwaite, his research into 61 high speed rail systems from across the world showed only six - most of them based in the Far East - managed to cover their own costs.
Campbell said that a large portion of the funds provided by the government were used to pay salaries at GMA and Bombela, as many of those working at the companies are very highly qualified.
Meanwhile, Beeld reported that the R700 million will mostly be paid to the GMA for additional unforeseen expenses, such as the finalisation of land claims, legal costs for ongoing arbitration and planning costs for future extensions to the Gautrain system.
Despite implications that the money was required “urgently” to continue the Gautrain’s operations, Braithwaite said that this was incorrect.
“The Gautrain is not the kind of project that (the government) will be operating one day and shutting down the next,” he said.
Bombela announced last month its plans to greatly expand the train’s routes, opening stations that will reach from Naledi in Soweto to Mamelodi in Pretoria.
However, Campbell suggested this may not be the best plan of action for the train, as the expense of Gautrain tickets may not be affordable to those in lower income areas.
The Star