The Gauteng provincial government will invest at least R120 billion in the Gautrain service over the next few years.
During his State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Monday, 24 February 2025, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi confirmed that the government plans to greatly expand on the current Gautrain network and bring the service to new parts of the province.
Expansion plans
The plans to grow the Gautrain network date back to October 2023, when ex-Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) CEO, William Dachs, announced that the group was in the “final stages” of finalizing an expansion project that would add another 150km to the existing 80km lines.
The new rail service would therefore be 230km long, just shy of triple its original size.
Lesufi reiterated on this plan almost a year later in August 2024, when he announced that the upgraded train line is intended to provide for previously underserved communities around the province.
He also explained that the expanded network would form a critical building block in the creation of a new high-speed passenger rail service (or “bullet train”) between Gauteng and Limpopo.
In his latest SOPA speech, the Premier reaffirmed the province’s commitment to this plan, stating that the new lines will run through the areas of Soweto, Fourways, Mamelodi, Atteridgeville, Lanseria, and Springs, adding to the existing infrastructure passing through Rosebank, Sandton, Marlboro, Rhodesfield, Midrand, Centurion, and Pretoria.
The project is expected to generate over 10.1 million jobs during the construction phase over a five-year period, according to Lesufi.
The following map shows the proposed expansion for the Gautrain network, which will be completed in stages:
Lesufi also provided an update on the ambitious bullet train between Gauteng and Limpopo, stating that the project “has started to move.”
“The Limpopo-Gauteng Speed Train project is gaining momentum. Following the announcement last year, it has been agreed that given the project’s magnitude and intricacy, it will be executed in multiple phases,” he said.
“The integrated concept document, endorsed by both Gauteng and Limpopo Premiers, has been approved and will be ready for signing by both provinces in due course.”
He added that the provinces are jointly ready to approach the National Department of Transport for consultation.
Facing opposition
Not everyone in Gauteng is thrilled about the idea of expanding the Gautrain network, as entities like the Automobile Association (AA) has labelled the service a white elephant that costs more than it generates for the local economy.
In October 2024, the AA put out a statement claiming that “any expansion of the current Gautrain service is wasteful expenditure on a service that doesn’t service the needs of most of Gauteng’s citizens.”
“The AA says spending billions of Rands on extending the service must seriously be reconsidered and stopped before it’s too late.”
The group has opposed suggestions to expand the service since 2021 on the grounds that it is too expensive to be accessible to the people who need it the most, and that the service itself is routinely bailed out for low ridership levels through a so-called Patronage Guarantee system.
In other words, the Gautrain service is not profitable and is being kept around by the Gauteng provincial government and, by extension, the province’s taxpayers.
It is estimated that local residents have collectively paid out over R16 billion to keep the service afloat over the last decade, regardless of whether they’ve used it.
The AA argues that this money would be better spent on other forms of public transport instead of the Gautrain, which it describes as a “financial train wreck.”
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