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.”