Park and Rosebank Gautrain stations halt operations
JOHANNESBURG - Gautrain services between Park and Rosebank stations have ground to a halt because water and soil is seeping into the tunnel section of the system.
Gautrain says the problem stems from an illegal drilling activity on a private property located above the tunnel. Gautrain is an 80-kilometre commuter rail system.
Parts of the rail network runs below ground in tunnels, while the rest of the network runs above ground.
Gautrain CEO Tshepo Kgobe explained what happened to eNCA saying, "We noticed it late in the evening as we were finishing services and we realised there was water dripping on the sides of the tunnels, a driver reported it."
"It continued on and so we started looking around and noticed there was a hole there - we walked around and went to a few properties that were in the area and found a drilling rig."
"Someone was drilling for water in one of the properties, just around the corner."
"At that point in time, the owner of the property would not allow us to look on-site to notify the people that were drilling that you are illegally drilling over a transport servitude."
"The transport servitude itself, inclusive of where the tunnel is, is protected by law," he said.
Kgobe said a 50m hole had been dug and came close to taking out some key infrastructure in the tunnel.
He implored residents of Johannesburg to refrain from embarking on illegal construction projects and follow lawful application processes with the municipality.