The Gautrain service between Rosebank and Park Station in Johannesburg remains suspended following an illegal drilling activity, but the operators have stepped up its bus service on the route.
Gautrain management said buses would run every 15 minutes between the two stations, from 5:30am until 20:30 daily, as a contingency measure while repairs take place.
The underground rail section was closed on Saturday after a driver noticed that soil and water had seeped into the tunnel.
An investigation showed that the owner of a property above the tunnel had illegally drilled a borehole of about 50 metres into the ground.
Tshepo Kgobe, a senior executive at the Gautrain Management Agency, told Newzroom Afrika that the company was in the process of initiating legal action against the property owner, on multiple contraventions of local bylaws as well as for allegedly flouting the Gauteng Transport Infrastructure Act.
He reiterated that no form of digging or drilling is permitted to take place without obtaining prior permission from the city.
MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela together with HoD Dr Thulani Mdadane & Gautrain CEO Tshepo Kgobe visiting the Gautrain shaft to assess the damage caused by a drilling activity at a residential place which led to disruptions of Gautrain services between Rosebank & Park Stations pic.twitter.com/UKhfnmjjPv
— GP Roads and Transport (@GPDRT_) February 16, 2025
On Sunday Gauteng’s MEC for Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, visited the site, where repair work had already commenced. However, no timeline for the completion of repairs has been provided as yet.
“We urge all stakeholders to follow due process when any land use changes or construction activities are planned in the vicinity of transport infrastructure in Gauteng so that such occurrences are prevented in the future,” Gautrain said in a statement.
While most of the 90km Gautrain high-speed rail network in Gauteng runs above ground, sections closer to the Joburg city centre run underground.
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