The Gauteng MEC for roads and transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has unveiled plans to upgrade the province’s Gautrain stations, including new smart licence centres and day cares for children.
In a recent interview with SABC News, the MEC explained that the goal is to turn the Gautrain’s stations into hubs for commercial activity.
“Our goal is to ensure that we expand and improve the infrastructure. It gives us an opportunity to rethink our services, as well as our fare model,” she said.
“One of the things that is coming with the new concessionary process is the commercialisation of our stations. We’ve already started with the smart licensing centres throughout all except Pretoria station.”
Furthermore, Diale-Tlabela said that the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) would launch a “G Cafe” coffee shop for individuals visiting the smart licencing centres.
She added that she was passionate about the idea of creating day care centres for mothers that use the public transport service.
The plans to upgrade the Gautrain stations form part of the new concession established following the conclusion of the GMA’s 19-and-a-half -year concession agreement with the Bombela Concession Company (BCC).
That agreement officially ended on Friday, 27 March 2026. The GMA remarked that it represented the closing chapter of one of South Africa’s most successful public-private partnerships.
“The Gautrain will continue operating under the PPP model going forward, ensuring stability, continuity and sustained private-sector participation,” it said.
However, the GMA and the provincial government failed to find a replacement before the BCC concession expired.
Because of this, the BCC was selected to run the Gautrain for another six months under a contractual holdover agreement.
The GMA is currently in the final negotiation stage with its preferred bidder for the new concession agreement.
“The preferred bidder will operate, maintain, refurbish, upgrade, and modernise the Gautrain system for the next 15 years,” the GMA said.
“Passengers can be fully assured that Gautrain services will continue without interruption, maintaining the high standards, reliability, and efficiency that have defined the system since its inception.”
19 new stations for the Gautrain
The Gauteng Provincial Government plans to build 19 new Gautrain stations and a new maintenance depot over the next 15 years.
In March 2026, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi revealed that Soweto, Mamelodi, Springs, Atteridgeville, Fourways, and parts of the West Rand would be the first areas to receive the new stations.
He added that the government would soon announce the winning bidder for the contract to expand the rail network to new areas.
“In a few weeks’ time, we will announce the winner who will then expand Gautrain to Springs, Atteridgeville, Fourways, and other economic nodes of our province,” said Lesufi.
The Premier noted that future expansions will see new stations open in Sedibeng and the Vaal, and that connecting stations will be built along the new routes.
The path from Mamelodi to Fourways, for example, will also include stations in Hazeldean and Sunninghill.
The expansion project will be carried out in five phases, each of which will have its own tender procurement process.
Phase One’s construction is scheduled to begin later this year, and the first new routes are expected to be fully operational by 2030.
“The Gautrain rail expansion will be a gateway to opportunity, creating more than 125,000 construction jobs while igniting growth in property, retail, and logistics along its path,” said the Premier.
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