Commuters left 'in the dark' as Gautrain experiences power failure

• The Gautrain services were interrupted following a power failure on Tuesday.
• Gautrain commuters say they had to learn over social media that the train had technical difficulties.
• A train shuttle has had to transport passengers between stations.

The Gautrain's operations have been interrupted following a power failure on Tuesday.

This, as load shedding continued across the country.

The train service between Park, Midrand and the Airport service had been disrupted. 

According to Gautrain, a train shuttle service was transporting passengers between Marlboro and Sandton, as well OR Tambo.

However, Charlen Raymond, a Wheels24 journalist who was on the train to Sandton, told News24 that they had to learn about it on social media.

Several commuters also shared their frustration on social media at being stuck inside the carriage.

"When were were approaching Rhodes field, the train went quiet and basically coasted into the station. There were no warnings or announcements for about ten minutes, until a voice over the intercom said that the Gautrain is experiencing technical issues," said Raymond.

He added that the train couldn't move, and approximately 100 metres further, another train was stuck - just outside the station.

READ | Gautrain daily commuter numbers dip by more than 76% owing to Covid-19 pandemic

After some time waiting, some passengers got out of the train and waited outside to escape the increasing humidity inside the train.

Raymond added that while they were finding alternative means to get to their destination on time, they made their way outside, ready to book a few Ubers to get to Sandton. 

"Luckily, the Gautrain arranged for buses to take passengers to Sandton station," he said.

"We learnt about load shedding and its impact on the train services via social media, but there was no clear information being shared to passengers via the intercom."

Commuters were informed that the generators would kick in at about 17:00, but Raymond said that no one was prepared to take the chance and wait because even that wasn't guaranteed to get the trains up and running.

"Though the passengers I was with were quite upset at what happened, no one seemed overly upset at the situation," added Raymond.

There was no indication, at the time of publication, what time the Gautrain services would resume.