Pretoria - Bad news for Gautrain commuters. There will be no trains operating from Monday from Hatfield or Pretoria stations, due to a strike by Gautrain operators.
There will be a reduced service for the duration of the strike, but there is some good news for Joburg commuters. Trains will be operating during peak times between Centurion and Sandton stations. These trains will operate from 5:45 am on Monday up to 9 am and will run every 12 minutes.
Trains will also run every 20 minutes between Sandton and Park Stations during this peak period.
No train services will be available during the off-peak period and only Centurion, Sandton and Park Stations will be open. All trains will be eight-car trains and operate in both directions (north and south lines).
To accommodate airport and Rhodesfield passengers, the Gautrain management will operate a bus service between Sandton and Rhodesfield stations. A mini-bus service will operate between Rhodesfield and OR Tambo stations. This service will operate from 5:45 am to 7 pm. A fixed fare of R21 per bus trip will apply for this service.
Gautrain Spokesperson Kesagee Nayager said ticket offices at all stations will be closed and passengers are asked to use the ticket vending machines or load money on the Gautrain website. She said passengers with monthly or weekly train products that are affected will be refunded for lost trips.
Nayager warned that passengers can expect extended journey times on some of the trips.
The strike is due to a deadlock in wage negotiations between Bombela Operating Company and transport workers union United Transport Union (Untu) . The workers have embarked on a no work, no pay strike as from Monday.
Bombela Operating Company has offered a 8.5% increase in salaries and all benefits. The offer was rejected by Untu members, who demand an increase of 19.5%.
Nayager meanwhile said that additional security measures will be implemented on the Gautrain system to ensure the safety of passengers.