Gautrain will relieve highway pressure

The Gautrain will not solve the congestion problems in Gauteng, but it will go a long way towards alleviating the pressure on our roads. This is according to Dr Barbara Jensen, marketing and communications director for Gautrain, the multi-billion rand high-speed train project currently under construction in the province. Speaking at the monthly Transport Forum in Woodmead, Johannesburg last week, Dr Jensen said it was estimated that Gautrain would take 20% of existing traffic off the highway corridor, which includes the Old Krugersdorp highway, the N12 to the Airport and the N1 between Johannesburg and Pretoria. “Our estimation is that we will see 20% of the existing 300 000 cars on the roads transfer to rail. While this will not solve congestion, it will go a long way to alleviating it.” Dr Jensen said one project alone could not be expected to solve the problem of congestion in the province. “Gauteng has the roads but because of congestion we have a mobility problem. A variety of programmes and projects would need to be implemented to solve the entire problem.”