Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy announced a Request for Information regarding a new rail system that is aimed at not only easing traffic congestion between Gauteng and Limpopo, as well as Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal, but also creating new job opportunities, towns and cities along the routes. Simultaneously economic growth is envisaged from this pair of projects.
Firstly the route between Gauteng and Limpopo is mainly accessed via the N1 freeway, covering over 500km between Johannesburg, passing through the Tshwane region, south Limpopo, into Polokwane, past to Musina all the way close to the Zimbabwe border. A high speed train system is being investigated for this purpose, which will see the train doing speeds of up to 200km/h on certain sections, thus enabling the journey to be cut by half when compared to road transport.
The second system will go from Gauteng to KwaZulu Natal, via the Free State, Ukhahlamba, Pietermaritzburg and finally into Durban, covering over 600km in what is expected to be around 3 hours. Both these systems will also connect Mpumalanga. Minister Creecy emphasised that these new rail systems will not be possible without private sector participation, meaning there will be some investment required from business.
