Gauteng plans 32 Gautrain trains instead of 24 under 15-year concession

Alstom will build eight new trains under the next 15-year Gautrain concession, in which Gauteng plans to grow the fleet from 24 to 32 four-car units.

Alstom’s €800 million scope in the SSM concession

The Gauteng Provincial Government and the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) have named the Sihamba Sonke Mobility (SSM) consortium the winning bidder for Gautrain’s next concession, Alstom said on 30 September. Alstom holds a stake in SSM and acts as its strategic industrial partner. The company puts the cumulative contract value of its scope at €800 million over the 15 years. Alstom will book the order in Q2 of its 2026/27 fiscal year.

The package combines engineering, procurement and construction work to modernise and refurbish the rail system. Besides the eight new trains, it covers a new signalling system, upgraded communications, refurbishment and modernisation of the trains already in service, and long-term maintenance. Alstom has not said how the €800 million is split between these parts or when the new trains will arrive.

The trains will be built locally in Gauteng at the Alstom Ubunye facility. The company, previously known as Union Carriage and Wagon, took its current name after Alstom bought 51% of Commuter Transport & Locomotive Engineering in April 2016. Alstom already maintains the system under the outgoing concession and has supported Gautrain from the start of the project.

More trains, longer hours and new ticketing for passengers

In its statement on the next 15-year operating phase, the provincial government said the 15-year arrangement will bring investment and modernisation across the system, rolled out step by step over the period. Its list of planned changes includes more frequent trains on weekdays outside the peaks, longer operating hours and a fleet of 32 four-car electric multiple units instead of 24. Alstom has not said whether its eight new trains are four-car units or whether they account for that increase.

Other items are closer links between trains and feeder buses, extra feeder routes and midibuses, and upgraded stations and depots. The list also covers better security and passenger information, wider public Wi-Fi and full backup power at stations. The province also plans a 30% contribution from renewable energy across stations and depots and a phased move to account-based ticketing with an integrated Mobility-as-a-Service platform.

Individual measures carry no dates in the statement. After 16 years of operation, Gautrain has carried more than 216 million passenger trips, the province said. Alstom said the contracting authority and the consortium will release more details later.

From Bombela to Sihamba Sonke Mobility

The appointment follows the end of the 19½-year concession held by Bombela Concession Company, which expired on 27 March 2026. In March, the GMA said a preferred bidder had been identified. The agency had triggered a six-month holdover from 28 March, so the incumbent operator, Bombela Operating Company, could keep running trains while talks continued. It added that the costs of establishing the Gautrain project would be fully paid off by the end of the old concession, and it valued the state-owned system at about R45 billion. RATP Dev, the lead shareholder in Bombela Operating Company, announced the SSM consortium in November 2024 with partners including Alstom, GIBB-Crede, African Infrastructure Investment Managers, Motseng, AIH, Nozala and Unitrans.

The new concession runs four and a half years shorter than Bombela’s and comes with a plan for 32 trains instead of 24, while Alstom keeps its maintenance role and adds a stake in the concession company. Sources: Gautrain Management Agency statements of 4 March and 30 September 2026, Alstom press release of 30 September 2026.