International Railroad Discussion > New Train in Africa

"All Things Considered" had a good piece today on the Gaultrain (prounced HOW train) between Johannasburg and Pretoria. Go to npr.org for the full story with pix.

I rode it last year from the airport to Sandton. It was clean, safe and well patronized. They have separate cars dedicated to those (mostly tourists) boarding at Tambo Airport. Locals use separate cars insulated from the others thus dispelling any crime fears. I believe the line has now been extended south to Johannesburg and north to Pretoria (or whatever the current government has renamed it). The only negative is that it is our standard gauge so cannot interchange with the main South African system.

The units are Bombardier Electrostars, with a streamlined front, internally very similar to the Southern Railway 377s I commute to work on. Built in Derby and assembled in South Africa