Pretoria -The Gautrain officially inaugurated its full operations between Hatfield Station in Pretoria and Park Station in central Johannesburg, this morning.
Spokesperson for Bombela Concession Company, Kelebogile Machaka, said with this final leg of the Gautrain, passengers between central Johannesburg and Rosebank, who have been relying on a bus to ferry them between the two stations, will now travel in four minutes by using the rail link at a cost of R19 per trip.
"A single pay-as-you-go train trip between the Hatfield and Park Stations will cost R52, while the analogous trip between Sandton and Park Stations will cost R22.
"Passengers who, up until now have caught the train to Rosebank Station and then a Gautrain bus into the Johannesburg CBD, will now be able to start their bus journey from Park Station instead, to the same stops as before," she said.
Machaka said passengers who have 'period products' currently terminating at Rosebank Station, may use the same product to Park Station instead, but will be charged an additional R3 per trip, which will be automatically deducted from the "pay-as-you-go" value on their gold cards.
The opening of the Gautrain station in central Johannesburg came a month after the City of Joburg has opened four new Rea Vaya bus stations which will enable commuters to easily integrate with both Metrorail and the Gautrain station at Park Station.
The Rea Vaya bus station at Park Station is strategically built at Rissik Street, not far away from the well-known Metrorail Johannesburg Park Station and the Gautrain station.
Speaking at the launch of Rea Vaya stations last month, City of Joburg's MMC for Transport, Rihanna Moosajee, said: "We hope that the introduction of the express services to and from Thokoza Park and opening stations along Rissik and Harrison streets will enable easy integration with Metrorail and Gautrain."
