Getting from Johannesburg to OR Tambo International airport used to be a real pain in the rear…from sitting in your car trying to figure out which route has less road works or possible delays!
Then, just before the World Cup in 2010, the Gautrain route between Sandton was opened and WHAT a difference that made.
A trip to ORT from our house can take anything up to an hour (or perhaps even longer) depending on the traffic congestion on some if not all the roads leading there.
BUT now with this high-speed (160km/p/h) train we can get there in less than 15minutes!
OK, we still have to get across town to the Sandton, but we have timed that at about 10 minutes, which means we save almost a half an hour…plus the stress of not being sure if we will be caught up in traffic at some point along the route.
Yes it is pricey at R100.00 per trip, however if you factor in the reduced stress levels it is a cheap alternative to therapy and possibly a crappy start to your trip
10 years ago I remember sitting at a lodge in Zambia with a group of journalists and I was rather emphatic that the Shilowa Express, as it was dubbed, would never work.
How wrong I was! It probably cost more that the original tender and it has had teething problems, but now that it is a viable method of getting to ORT stress free…I use it as frequently as I can.
I cannot wait for the line to Pretoria, next phase to ‘open for business’ to come into operation in mid 2011…what a change that will make to the HATED Ben Schoeman highway.
Gautrain…you ROCK!
Written on the Gautrain on route to ORT
For more information please visit the Gautrain web site: www.gautrain.co.za
