The request for proposals (RFP) for the preliminary design of four possible expansion routes to the 80 km Gautrain system closes today, says Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) CEO Jack van der Merwe.

The RFP includes technical, legal and financial aspects, and should provide the GMA with guidance on the feasibility of the project, he adds.

The routes currently under investigation include a link from the existing Gautrain Park Station, underneath the city, to Westgate; a link from the existing Gautrain Rhodesfield Station to Boksburg; a link from the existing Gautrain Sandton Station to Randburg and Honeydew, and a link from Naledi, in Soweto, to Mamelodi, via either the proposed Gautrain Samrand Station, or the existing Gautrain Midrand Station.

“We would only really know what the project entails three, four years from now, at which point we will start looking at methods of funding the expansions,” says Van der Merwe.

“This means government’s medium-term budget will reflect only planning costs, and not any construction costs.”

The expansion forms part of the Gauteng government’s new Integrated Transport Master Plan, and is not being implemented as a freestanding project, emphasises Van der Merwe.

He says participation on the expansion project is open to any interested party, including Gautrain concessionaire Bombela, which operates the current 80 km system in a public-private partnership.

The Gautrain system currently carries 62 500 train passengers a day, and between 22 000 and 24 000 bus passengers a day.

Winter has, however, as always, seen a drop in patronage, which currently stands at around 58 000 to 59 000 train passengers a day.

The start of e-tolling on Gauteng’s highways in December has added around 13 000 trains passengers a day, says Van der Merwe.