After a month's delay, the R25.2-billion Gautrain will finally make its first commercial trip between Rosebank in Johannesburg and Hatfield in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The train was delayed by a month so that all contractual and technical requirements could be evaluated.
It is expected to run between Johannesburg's Park Station and Hatfield by the end of the year.
The southward leg of the train, from Rosebank to Park Station, has been delayed indefinitely due to concerns over water seeping into the underground tunnel.
Making the announcement yesterday, Gauteng transport MEC Ismail Vadi said: "The independent certifiers for the project, Arup, have confirmed that they will be in a position to issue the operating commencement date certificate for this phase of operations on Monday, August 1."
Of the route between Rosebank and Park Station, Vadi said: "It is envisaged that the section could be opened by the end of the year."
Commuters wanting to use this route, Vadi said, will be provided with buses to transport them to Rosebank and back.
The delay, he said, will be to accommodate additional engineering works to the route.
Gautrain Management Agency CEO Jack van der Merwe said the water seeping into the tunnel was being pumped into the Zandspruit River.
Jerome Govender, CEO of the Bombela Concession, which is building the Gautrain, said companies subcontracted to it will incur penalties for the delays in the route from Rosebank to the inner city, but "those penalties are very small".
The train service will operate daily between 5.30am and 8.30pm, including weekends.
Vadi said the trains will ferry a maximum of 108000 passengers between Johannesburg and Pretoria every day.
Van der Merwe said the service will be subsidised until it is self-sufficient. He said research shows that the Gautrain will ease at least 20% of traffic off the M1 between Johannesburg and Pretoria.
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