South Africa's first high-speed train exceeds expectations

Jerome Govender, chief executive of the Bombela Concession Company, which operates the train, said on Tuesday that this shattered all forecasts ahead of the rapid rail link's official opening last month.

The train started operating on June 8, three days before the opening of the month-long FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

"Ahead of the launch we were expecting a third of that number and we are extremely pleased with the usage so far," Govender told Business Day newspaper in South Africa.

"Demand was such that on our first weekend of operation we had to increase the frequency of the trains from 30 minutes to 12 minutes to meet the demand. We were carrying about 20,000 passengers on weekends during June."

Govender said the decision to increase frequencies on weekends was also to address a safety concern about crowded platforms.

Govender admitted that the first month's numbers were buoyed by the World Cup, the lengthy South African school holidays and many passengers being eager to experience the train for the first time.

"With the World Cup behind us, we have returned to normal trading conditions and I expect to see passenger numbers fall somewhat in the next month," said Govender.

While Bombela was considering some changes to the service in response to demand and feedback from passengers, it would wait for the volumes to settle in the next three months, he said, Kazinform refers to Xinhuanet.

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